Ottawa, Ohio
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1908 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Ottawa Township. It lies in ZIP code area 45875. It stands on Tawa Run. The Survey maps it on the Ottawa quadrangle. 4,456 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 466 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1908 to 1986The same ground, surveyed 78 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


On record in Ottawa
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 3 records
Dr. H. Huber Blocklisted 1980
Ottawa Waterworks Buildinglisted 1976
Putnam County Courthouselisted 1974
Businesses named in the fire insurance atlases 7 records
- Democrat, PrintingPrinting, in the atlas of 1911
- Hermiller, J., ElevatorMill, in the atlas of 1900
- Inter-Urban DepotDepot, in the atlas of 1911
- Krebs, O, Machine ShopMachine Shop, in the atlas of 1900
- Machine RmMachine Shop, in the atlas of 1900
- St. Peter and Paul's Catholic ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1911
- United Brethren ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1911
Population over time
2 figuresOttawa fell from 4,460 to 4,456 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 4,460 | |
| 2020 | 4,456 | -4 (-0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 12 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1908 USGS Ottawa quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Fort Wayne quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Fort Wayne quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Ottawa quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1986 USGS Defiance quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
4 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Ottawa in 2002, burning about 3 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 July 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 5 May 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 25 February 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 18 October 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 103 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 103 specimens collected within 10 miles of Ottawa between 1860 and 1969: 95 Animalia, 8 Plantae. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Adler, K. K., Blyth & Katz, Bureau of Fisheries and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Lampsilis radiata radiata (Gmelin, 1791) | 1893 | Bureau of Fisheries | Blanchard River |
![]() | Lasmigona costata (Rafinesque, 1820) | 1893 | not recorded | Blanchard River, Ottawa |
![]() | Ligumia recta (Lamarck, 1819) | 1893 | O. E. | Blanchard River, Ottawa |
![]() | Hybopsis amblops (Rafinesque, 1820) | 1860 | unknown | Blanchard R. at Ottawa |
![]() | Botaurus lentiginosus (Rackett, 1813) | 1878 | not recorded | |
![]() | Calidris alpina (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1878 | Porter collection, J.B. | |
![]() | Calidris minutilla (Vieillot, 1819) | 1878 | Porter collection, J.B. | |
![]() | Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1878 | Porter collection, J.B. | |
![]() | Gallinago gallinago (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1878 | Porter, J.B. | |
![]() | Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1878 | Porter, J.B. | |
![]() | Sterna hirundo Linnaeus, 1758 | 1878 | Porter collection, J.B. | |
![]() | Botaurus Stephens, 1819 | 1879 | not recorded |
All 103 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Ottawa: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glandorf Tile Company Pit | Clay | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Putnam Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Putnam Stone Co. | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
35 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ottawa in 35 storm reports between 1993 and 2022: 18 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 3 flash flood, 1 dust devil. The reports record 1 death. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | 1 killed, $10,000 | Numerous trees down including one that fell on a car causing a fatality. |
| December 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | $10,000 | TREES AND POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN ACROSS THE TOWN. |
| July 1997 | Flash Flood | Ottawa | $10,000 | Heavy rainfall caused streets to flood. Also, Cranberry creek flooded a few homes. |
| May 1997 | Flash Flood | Ottawa | $10,000 | Numerous roads closed due to persistent heavy rainfall. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | $5,000 | Emergency management officials reported a tent and a temporary wall blown down at the county fair. |
| August 1997 | Flash Flood | Ottawa | $5,000 | Several hours of thunderstorms with torrential downpours caused many roads to be flooded. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | $5,000 | Numerous large limbs downed. |
| September 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | $5,000 | Damage occurred to several outbuildings. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | The public reported shingle damage to several residences as well as five large, healthy trees being blown down. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | Trained spotters reported estimated wind gusts of 60 mph. |
| October 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | A storm chaser recorded a 60 mph wind gust. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | A trained spotter measured a 58 mph wind gust and observed some smaller tree branches down, up to three inches in diameter. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | The public reported a six inch diameter tree limb down at the intersection of Locust and 3rd Street. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | A trained spotter reported a portion of a roof being blown off a factory as well as trees being uprooted in the area. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | A trained spotter reported a tree was blown down. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | Trained spotter measure a 60 mph wind gust. Several tree limbs were found down in the area. |
| June 2005 | Dust Devil | Ottawa | - | Pictures and eyewitness reports confirmed a large dust devil developed on a clear and sunny day. This dust devil extended over 100 feet into the air as was easily visible. Local law enforceent officials did track the feature, with no damage being reported. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | Law enforcement reported 15 power poles down south of Ottawa. |
| April 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | Law enforcement reported trees and power lines down across the county. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | Law enforcement reported trees and power lines down in Ottawa. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | Several trees down. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ottawa | - | Trees down. |
| October 2020 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| September 2017 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| October 2014 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Hail | Ottawa | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Acres Estates | 1.1 miles | 12 | |
| Upper Tauwa (historical) | 1.5 miles | 12 | |
| Glandorf | 1.8 miles | 12 | |
| New Cleveland | 3.8 miles | 12 | |
| Wards (historical) | 5.9 miles | 12 | |
| Elm Center | 6.2 miles | 12 | |
| Leipsic | 6.4 miles | 9 | |
| Avis | 6.5 miles | 11 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Ottawa | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q993732 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1070881. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.
















