46 topographic sheets and 8 fire insurance atlases across 1 place.
This curated hub for Van Wert County, Ohio brings together the page's documented record links, visible map or image evidence where published, and routes to related local records.
Use the page's provenance and linked records to distinguish the source material from the site's navigation and summaries.
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7 National Register listings · 21 businesses named in the fire insurance atlases from 1890 to 1914 · the 1858 county history tells 0 stories and names 13 people · people the book names include John Murphy & Co Carpet Bags (Washington Township, 1858) (machine-read).
Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the National Register database, National Park Service
Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
| Photograph | Property | Type | Listed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Bredeick-Lang House | building | 1982 | 82003663 |
 | Brumback Library | building | 1979 | 79001973 |
| Convoy Opera House-City Hall-Firehouse Building | building | 2021 | 100006162 | |
| Kauke and McCurdy Block | building | 2021 | 100006140 | |
 | Round Barn | building | 1980 | 80003240 |
 | Van Wert Bandstand | structure | 1982 | 82001493 |
 | Van Wert County Courthouse | building | 1974 | 74001639 |
Van Wert County holds 0 covered bridges on the National Register, more than any other property type here. Each is a listed structure with a federal nomination on file.
Drawn when these were printed as single large sheets: the town seen from the air, and the county divided into its farms with every owner named. Each opens the original at the Library of Congress.
Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. 416 frames touch this county; the selection below spreads across the decades of flights (at most four per year), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.
The "who lived here, by year" answer: pre-1929 public-domain directory volumes naming the county's people, machine-read and searchable as text.
The thermometers that kept this county's weather, and the gages that watched its rivers, as the federal records hold them. The extremes below are measured values from those records, not estimates.
Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.
Every Sanborn volume opens with a printed index naming the town's mills, tanneries, hotels and works by proprietor. Those indexes were read off the scanned sheets by machine and then matched to each other, so a business surveyed four times appears here once, with the years it survived. 2 of these 21 were named in more than one atlas. Each carries a crop of the line it was read from: the spelling is the recogniser's and the 1880s lithographer's, and the scan behind it is the proof.
Church
1907 to 1914, named in 2 atlases
Read elsewhere as First Presbyterian Church.
The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 354 reports for this county, causing 3 deaths, 28 injuries and about $36,788,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 223 |
| Hail | 72 |
| Tornado | 42 |
| Flash Flood | 10 |
| Flood | 4 |
| Lightning | 2 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2002 | Tornado (F4) | Willshire | 2 killed, 17 hurt, $30,000,000 | This tornado touched down in the southwest corner of Van Wert County about 4 miles northeast of Willshire and moved northeast across the western portion of the city of Van Wert, and then crossed U.S. 30 and continued northeast before exiting the county about 7 miles east of Scott. NWS ground and aerial surveys showed the tornado quickly intensified to F4 about 5 miles southwest of the city of Van Wert near Zook road, where a 75 year old male was killed in his home. The tornado continued moving northeast as an F4 into the city of Van Wert, were it hit the Twin Cinemas and the Vision Industrial Park. At this point the tornado was about one half mile wide. 60 persons watching a movie in the cinemas, mostly children, took shelter before the tornado hit, with only minor injuries. Vehicles from the parking lot were thrown into the seats where the children had been sitting. An 18 year old male driving past the cinemas was thrown from his vehicle and killed. The tornado then destroyed five industries in the Vision Industrial Park, before moving north of U.S. 30, producing F4 damage to additional businesses and homes. The tornado weakened to F3 as it moved northeast and crossed into Paulding county. 164 homes were damaged in Van Wert county, and 43 were totally destroyed. 27 businesses sustained damage, with 5 totally destroyed in Vision Park. Three county engineer buildings were destroyed, with one house used by a township. Total damage in Van Wert county was near 30 million dollars. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ohio City | 1 killed | Emergency management officials reported a large tree fell onto a house and roof of a patio near the intersection of SR 118 and Hoffman St. An husband and wife were under the roof of the porch at the time and had to be rescued. The husband escaped with no injuries, but his 87 year old wife was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead. |
| February 1992 | Tornado (F4) | not stated | 6 hurt, $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| April 1965 | Tornado (F4) | not stated | 4 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| January 1950 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | 1 hurt, $25,000 | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Tornado (F2) | Ohio City | $1,000,000 | The tornado was likely produced as the result of a line of thunderstorms overtaking an isolated supercell thunderstorm ahead of the line. The circulation which produced the tornado intensified shortly after the merger of the line and isolated supercell. The tornado developed near the intersection of Burris Road and Walnut Grove Church Road about 1 mile south of Ohio City. The tornado tracked to the east-northeast for roughly 2 miles before dissipating near Greenville Rd about 2 miles east of Ohio City. Damage along the first half of the tornado track was consistent with F2 intensity, with winds estimated at 140-150 mph and an initial path width of about 300 yards. In this area, 3 barns were completely destroyed, with another 5 sustaining damage. A garage was destroyed, and several houses received damage including roof, siding, and windows. Several grain bins were also damaged, along with other miscellaneous vehicle and property damage, including several tractors, a combine and other farm implements. Damage along the second half of the tornado track was consistent with F1 intensity, with the path width narrowing to about 25 yards. Several buildings sustained roof, siding, and window damage, with several instances of trailer and vehicle damage. |
| July 2017 | Flash Flood | Van Wert Arpt | $425,000 | Several rounds of thunderstorms dropped anywhere from three to over six inches of rain onto already saturated ground in the southeastern part of the county. This caused extensive flooding, with several creeks, streams and ditches going over their banks. Jennings Creek overflowed its banks and surrounded a factory on the southwest side of Delphos, forcing employees to shelter in place with the only means of egress being a nearby train track. Several county roads were closed across the area, but no washouts were reported. Emergency management officials report that 12 homes and 3 businesses were impacted, with total damage of around $425,000. |
| August 2007 | Flash Flood | Cavett | $250,000 | Emergency Management officials reported that all bridges and most roads were closed in Hoaglin and Jackson townships as a result of flowing water over many roads as well as water approaching the bottom of bridges. Property damage is estimated at $250,000. |
| July 1992 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| September 1990 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1981 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cavett | $200,000 | A swath of damage from winds measured as high as around 80 mph damaged several structures including a garage, barn and 2 grain bins. Several wooden power poles were also snapped. Damage in the area is estimated at $200,000. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willshire | $100,000 | Widespread trees and power lines down. All roads closed in town due to being blocked by downed trees and power lines. Numerous homes and barns sustained structural damage, both from wind, and from falling trees. A grain elevator sustained significant damage, and the village's communication system was destroyed. |
| November 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $100,000 | Numerous trees reported down across the county. A metal barn was destroyed, with another knocked over. A semi was reported blown over on US 30. Surveys from local emergency and NWS officials found evidence of the formation of gustnadoes where concentrated areas of damage were observed. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wetsel | $75,000 | Emergency management officials surveyed a concentrated area of damage, appearing to be the result of a micro-burst. Within a roughly one mile square area, one barn roof was blown off, three aluminum and one wooden barn door were damaged, several 100 year old trees were blown down by the winds. Also, around 20 structures suffered mainly shingle damage. Damage is estimated at $75,000. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dixon | $75,000 | Two barns were severely damaged, a grain bin was destroyed, and a three car garage was moved one foot off its foundation just east of Dixon. Also, numerous trees were downed This storm also produced up to golf ball size hail near Van Wert. |
| August 2007 | Lightning | Convoy | $65,000 | Lightning struck a 40 foot oak tree, causing it to drop onto a home at the intersection of Payne and Convoy roads. Significant damage resulted to the home, but no injuries were reported. Damage is estimated at $65,000. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Wren | $60,000 | The tornado touched down near the Adams county, Indiana and Van Wert county, Ohio line. It proceeded across State Line Road and destroyed 2 closed, steel doors on a barn. The tornado dissipated over open field. Damage is estimated at $60,000 to the barn. No injuries were reported. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $50,000 | Twelve power poles down between Stripe Rd and Mendon Rd near the Vantage Career Center. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Middle Pt | $50,000 | Numerous reports of damage to trees, power lines and poles were received across Van Wert County, especially in the Middle Point area. One wind gust of 72 mph was recorded near the area of damage, but signs of winds as high as 80 mph were observed. A car was pushed off the road near Chenowith Rd in the Middle Point area. |
| February 2008 | Flood | Willshire | $50,000 | Several county roads were closed due to high water, including State Route 49 just north of Wilshire. |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $50,000 | Winds of 65 mph were reported in Van Wert at 0230 EST. At 0240 EST trees were reported downed, one on a car. A tractor-semitrailer was blown over on route 30. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $40,000 | Emergency management officials reported a 12-inch diameter tree down onto a car. The roof was blown off the Brookside Dairy Convenience Building. Damage is estimated at $40,000. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Convoy | $40,000 | A semi hauling a modular home was overturned on westbound US 30 northeast of Convoy. The structure was destroyed as a result of the accident. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $30,000 | Several trees and power lines down around town, including a tree on a house. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $30,000 | Bell tower collapsed at St Marys Church in Van Wert. |
| February 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | Convoy | $30,000 | A weak circulation touched down on the north side of Convoy Road|at a residence where two tree limbs fell in a convergent pattern and|debris from a swing set was thrown down the center point of the|path. The outer edge of the circulation also picked up an small,|unanchored chicken coop over a shed, clipping the roof corner and|dropping on the east side . The tornado pushed in the SW side of a|large metal shed and pushing out metal roofing. The tornado|continued across Sycamore St, crossing SR 49 and began weakening|as it move across Hall Dr, producing sporadic tree and shingle|damage. The tornado lifted before reaching Franklin St. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ohio City | $30,000 | Damaging winds continued east after the dissipation of the tornado east of Ohio City, causing damage to several barns on Mendon Rd. A older vacant barn on Ries Rd was destroyed by the high winds. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $25,000 | Barn blown over. Several trees and power lines down. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Convoy | $25,000 | Emergency management reported damage to a school sports complex with large sections of bleachers tossed and cement block dugouts at a baseball diamond destroyed. Windows were blown out of a house next to the complex. Winds were estimated around 90 MPH from a microburst. |
| June 1998 | Tornado (F1) | Willshire | $25,000 | Emergency management reported F1 damage from a tornado northeast of Willshire. The tornado was on the ground for one and one half miles, touching down 2 miles northeast of Willshire and lifting 3 and one half miles northeast of Willshire. F1 damage was a leveled barn and trees uprooted and torn out of the ground. The tornado was about 75 yards wide at its widest point.. |
| December 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $25,000 | no account filed |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cavett | $20,000 | Power poles were snapped and lines were down. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert Arpt | $20,000 | Emergency manager reports a semi was blown over. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ohio City | $20,000 | Emergency manager reports a semi was blown over. |
| March 2023 | Lightning | Van Wert Arpt | $20,000 | Surveillance video shows a pickup truck was struck by lightning this morning in a parking lot. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dixon | $20,000 | The top of a large grain bin was ripped off. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert Arpt | $20,000 | Sixty slate shingles were blown off of the performing arts center. |
| June 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Willshire | $20,000 | Very brief touchdown near the intersection of Harrison Willshire Rd. and state route 81. Several storage sheds, silos, grain elevators, and trees sustained damage. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $15,000 | Seven power poles were reported blown down southeast of Van Wert by emergency management officials. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ohio City | $15,000 | A parked semi trailer was blown over. Siding was ripped off the side of a house as well as large limbs being broken off a tree on the property. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $15,000 | Several reports of trees and tree limbs down in various parts of the county, including north of Ohio City, the west side of Delphos and northeast parts of the county. Power lines were also reported down within the city of Van Wert. |
| June 2006 | Tornado (F1) | Willshire | $15,000 | Brief touchdown near the intersection of state route 81 and Glenmore Rd. A garage sustained significant structural damage. Total path length was about 100 yards. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Convoy | $15,000 | Roof ripped off an autobody shop and thrown into a car. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Convoy | $10,000 | A large tree was downed and shingles were blown off a roof. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $10,000 | Emergency management officials reported a power pole down 2 miles southeast of Van Wert. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wren | $10,000 | Law enforcement officials reported trees and power lines down. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dixon | $10,000 | Two power poles were blown down east of Dixon, with two 40 foot diameter trees down west of Convey. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ohio City | $10,000 | 4 large pine trees were uprooted as well as part of a barn roof being pulled off. An empty silo was also rolled into a field in the area. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ohio City | $10,000 | Strong winds, estimated around 70 mph, lifted the corner of a metal factory in Ohio City, sucked out some insulation and set the corner back down. No injuries were reported. |
| June 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Venedocia | $10,000 | Very brief touchdown near the intersection of Converse Rd. and Landeck Rd. A well built shed was destroyed in this area. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $10,000 | Barn destroyed. Trees down. |
| May 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Scott | $10,000 | OLD BARN SUSTAINED MODERATE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. GARAGE SUFFERED MINOR DAMAGE. |
| November 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $10,000 | SEVERAL TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN. |
| March 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wren | $8,000 | An outbuilding roof was lifted and tossed across the street. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $6,000 | Law enforcement officials reported tree limbs were broken off by the winds and fell onto a transformer, causing some damage. Damage is estimated at $6,000. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Glenmore | $5,000 | The emergency manager reports numerous trees were down between Wren and Ohio City. |
| June 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Wetsel | $5,000 | The tornado touched down on the northeast side of the intersection of Convoy Road and tracked northeast towards a residence. Numerous trees were snapped, uprooted and topped. The house suffered siding and roof damage. Path length was around one half mile and 100 yards wide. Damage is estimated at $5,000. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Wert | $5,000 | A wind gust to 68 mph was measured in Van Wert. A small portable trailer was flipped over. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Venedocia | $5,000 | Trees and power lines downed |
The Survey's mineral resources record lists 4 workings inside this county. 4 still produce and 0 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Stone, Crushed/Broken | 2 |
| Sulfur | 1 |
| Magnesite | 1 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Plant 0 | Magnesite | Plant | ||
| Sulphur Sales Inc/ Middle Point, Oh | Sulfur | Producer | ||
| Delphos Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Ridge Township Quarry & Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Plant |
Museum specimens collected inside this county and catalogued with a date and a place: 213 of them, by kingdom 203 animalia, 5 plantae, 4 fungi, 1 chromista. Each is a physical object in a named collection, not a sighting. Held by Ohio State University - Fish Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), UMMZ, Ohio State University - Bird Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), USNM, Ohio State University - Amphibian Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), BPI among others, and each settlement page carries the specimens collected near it.
The oldest of them. A specimen proves something was collected on that day; its absence proves nothing.
| Photograph | Year | Species | Kingdom | Where | Collector | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1837 | Geranium maculatum L. | Plantae | Van Wert Co., Ohio | Frank | MA 7754 |
 | 1850 | Cerastium glomeratum Thuill. | Plantae | Ohio City. | not recorded | MEL MEL 2493096B |
 | 1865 | Lophanthus nepetoides (L.) Benth. | Plantae | Delphos | Holzer, L. | BDI |
 | 1893 | Aphredoderus sayanus (Gilliams, 1824) | Animalia | St. Marys River, Rockford, Ohio | P. Kirsch | USNM USNM 76077 |
 | 1893 | Carpiodes cyprinus (Lesueur, 1817) | Animalia | Hoaglin Creek, Oakwood, Ohio | P. Kirsch | USNM USNM 76068 |
 | 1893 | Hybopsis amblops (Rafinesque, 1820) | Animalia | Hoaglin Creek, Oakwood, Ohio | P. Kirsch | USNM USNM 76051 |
 | 1893 | Lepomis megalotis (Rafinesque, 1820) | Animalia | Hoaglin Creek, Oakwood, Ohio | P. Kirsch | USNM USNM 76230 |
 | 1921 | Albugo platensis (Speg.) Swingle | Chromista | Van Wert | Stevenson, John A. | BPI BPI 185914 |
The Book of the Great Railway Celebrations of 1857; Embracing a Full Account of the Opening of the Ohio & Mississippi, and the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroads, and the Northwestern Virginia Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with ... an Account of the Subsequent Excursion to Baltimore, Washington and Norfolk .. devotes a chapter to each township: its boundaries and streams, who settled it and when, the mills, the schools and the churches. All 1 are reproduced here in full. Each row shows the township's own shape and where it lies in the county, drawn from the Census Bureau's boundary. Which settlements belong to which township is computed from that same boundary, not taken from the book.
| Shape and position in the county | Township | Settlements in it | Length | Sections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Township | Middle Point | 178,675 words | 133 |
Everyone The Book of the Great Railway Celebrations of 1857; Embracing a Full Account of the Opening of the Ohio & Mississippi, and the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroads, and the Northwestern Virginia Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with ... an Account of the Subsequent Excursion to Baltimore, Washington and Norfolk .. stops to write about, with the section that describes them. Among them are the men who founded the place and governed the Territory. Each name opens the passage itself, in the words of 1858.
Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the watercourse or landform it stands on and the survey quadrangle it falls on. The 1 places that were also surveyed for fire insurance come first, with the number of atlases and photographs held for them.
Pleasant township · 45891 · Van Wert quadrangle
14 sheets, 1914 to 1986
Fire insurance: 8 atlases
York township · 45874 · Van Wert quadrangle
14 sheets, 1914 to 1986
No longer a settlement
York township · 45894 · On Long Prairie Creek · Van Wert quadrangle
14 sheets, 1914 to 1986
Liberty township · 45874 · Van Wert quadrangle
14 sheets, 1914 to 1986
No longer a settlement
14 topographic sheets and 8 fire insurance atlases, 1884 to 1948
The complete index, with nothing left out. Each of these is a separate record with its own page: a federal survey report, or the case file that argued a property on to the National Register. Both are public domain and reproduced word for word.
The vanished settlements of Van Wert County, the places these records name that are no longer on the map.
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