Oregon Jerusalem Historical Society

Oregon Jerusalem Historical Society Dedicated to the preservation of our area's heritage and bringing history to life for all to enjoy.

. Saturday History Lesson with The History Fanatic This weekend ...
06/13/2026

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Saturday History Lesson with
The History Fanatic


This weekend we are talking about:
–The Traufler Basket Factory–

Ironville was a thriving, tight-knit working-class enclave in East Toledo, Ohio, established in the 1860s around the pig-iron smelting industry. Though the neighborhood was almost entirely erased by urban renewal in the 1960s, its legacy as a cornerstone of the region's industrial boom remains.
Originally its own town, it was incorporated into the city of Toledo in 1873. Following this, the area experienced rapid growth with the arrival of railroads, shipbuilding docks, basket factories, and the Paragon Oil Refinery
The Traufler Brothers operated a notable basket factory in the historical Ironville neighborhood of East Toledo, Ohio, located near Front Street. The business was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, contributing to the industrial and commercial roots of the area.

I really could not find a lot of info on the Traufler Basket Co. All I could find was they were a family that lived in Ironville during the late 19th century and early 20th century. I am hoping some people here will know some things about the family. All the pictures I have are of the family homestead on Lee St. In Ironville.

History and Pictures Provided by: Oregon-Jerusalem Historical Society Archive

06/13/2026

Ready to take an adventure through local history?

This July, Northwest Ohio's historic sites are celebrating America's 250th birthday with a program called the Time Travelers Passport. This takes place July 1st - 15th 2026, with an opportunity to visit the museums and landmarks in our area.
Time Travelers Passport brings together 12 venue locations across Northwest Ohio. Each stop along the route offering special programs, tours or exhibits.
Explorer's can pick up a Time Travelers Passport at any participating venue or download it from the website. Www.timetravelerspassport.org
Each venue you visit you collect stamps for your passport. Completed passports can be turned in for a commemorative coin.

. Saturday History Lesson with The History Fanatic Thi...
06/06/2026

.
Saturday History Lesson with
The History Fanatic


This weekend we are talking about:
–The Lee Resolution–

The Road to Revolution

In the early 1770s, more and more colonists became convinced that the British Parliament intended to take away their freedom. After fighting broke out in Massachusetts in the spring of 1775, the King declared the colonists "in a state of open and avowed rebellion." For the first time, many colonists began to seriously consider cutting ties with Britain.
The colonists elected delegates to attend a Continental Congress that eventually became the governing body of the union during the Revolution. Its second meeting convened in Philadelphia in 1775. The delegates to Congress adopted strict rules of secrecy to protect the cause of American liberty and their own lives. In less than a year, most of the delegates abandoned hope of reconciliation with Britain.
On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution "that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states," acting under the instruction of the Virginia Convention. The Lee Resolution contained three parts: a declaration of independence, a call to form foreign alliances, and "a plan for confederation."
On June 11, 1776, the Congress appointed three concurrent committees in response to the Lee Resolution: one to draft a declaration of independence, a second to draw up a plan "for forming foreign alliances," and a third to "prepare and digest the form of a confederation."
Because many members of the Congress believed the actions Lee proposed to be premature or wanted instructions from their colonies before voting, approval was deferred until July 2. On that date, Congress adopted the first part (the declaration). The words of the Lee Resolution are echoed in the Declaration of Independence.

. Saturday History Lesson with The History Fanatic This we...
05/30/2026

.
Saturday History Lesson with
The History Fanatic


This weekend we are talking about:
–Olney Market–

The produce department is small, the grocery shelves are not loaded with items,
and the meat case is not stacked as high as it is in big supermarkets.
But the Olney Market, in Oregon we could easily decide that less is more. The 61 year old market at the corner of Bayshore and Stadium roads features cordiality, conversation, and personal service, and for those who take the time, it can be a trip down memory lane.
Mrs. Bailey's memories of good and bad times in the grocery business date to World War 2. In 1944 she and her late husband, Lester Bailey, learned the business in the original Olney Market on Woodville Road named for Olney School. The owner and Mr. Bailey's uncle, Jim Bailey, offered to teach the young couple the business.
Mrs. Bailey remembers the old store that was also a gas station. It was a popular place for people to use rationing stamps. That market was demolished when the Woodville road overpass was built. Charles Schuster, a friend of the couple, offered to build a new building if they agreed to move into it. They then moved into the present location.
Mr. Bailey passed away in 1977, he was a notable butcher and passed his skill onto his son Michael.
Michael Bailey is the official owner of the store and his wife Sandi assists in management.

History and Pictures Provided by: Oregon-Jerusalem Historical Society Archive

05/27/2026

Coming up next Wednesday, May 27th is our annual Spaghetti Dinner at the Jerusalem Township Fire Hall 9501 Jerusalem rd. All the festivities start at 430pm. Hope to see you there

. Saturday History Lesson with The History Fanatic This wee...
05/23/2026

.
Saturday History Lesson with
The History Fanatic


This weekend we are talking about:
–Ward Canal–

Lake Erie's southern shoreline, once teeming with shipbuilding activity, now is without any major shipyard following the closing of two American Shipbuilding Co. Yards.
The Lorain yard closed, as did the Toledo Amship yard on Front St. The demise of the industry spurred one local historian and boating enthusiast to research the days when an area of Jerusalem Township, 13 miles east of Toledo, was a shipbuilding center.
Martin Z. Wiener, a local businessman and township farmer,in the journal of the Western Lake Erie Historical Society, describes activities along Wards Canal in the 1870's. The shipyard only lasted a few years, but a sawmill built as an adjunct to it survived well into the 1990's.
Mr. Wiener noted that not many of the thousands of boaters and fishermen who use Wards Canal to get to Lake Erie, are aware that the canal was dug to provide access to the shipyard.
A barn on his farm, north of Route 2 at Bono, was built on the foundations of an old shipyard. Western Lake Erie has always,up until now, been the center of shipbuilding activity, even extending back to the War of 1812, when some of Commodore Perry's ship were built there
In 1867, Captain Eber Brock Ward, a Detroit industrialist, bought 8,500 acres of oak Timbers for his shipyard. Ward needed some way to get the lumber out of the swampy area. Using a steam dredge towed in from Detroit, as well as scrapper, picks, and shovels, he had a Canal dug extending about 2.5 miles in from the Lake.
The canal, was 30 feet wide and 15 feet deep, ran southwest from the Lake for about 1 ¾ miles, where it turned west, following the path of present day Route 2 . It narrowed into the channel of Cedar Creek just east of what today is Teachout Road.
The Detroiter first built a sawmill near the present intersection of Route 2 and Lyon Road. The shipyard was built on the north side of the canal about 1 1/2 miles east of the mill and opened in 1870. The shipyard employed about 100 men, stood north of the canal opposite what now is Main Street in Bono.
The town across from Wards shipyard was named Shepherdsville, probably after brothers Dan and Bogne Shepherd who operated a saloon and the boarding house. They applied for a post office under that name, but were turned down because another Ohio town already had applied for the name. Instead they picked the name of a respected Indian, Joseph Bunno. Eventually, through repeated usage, the name was shorted to Bono.
Some sizable vessels, including schooner-barges were built in Wards shipyard.
Ward's shipyard shut down in the economic depression of 1873, and the captain died two years later in Detroit. His former home was sold, the boarding house was made into two separate homes and the sawmill became an onion storage house.

History and Pictures Provided by: Oregon-Jerusalem Historical Society Archive

. Saturday History Lesson with The History Fanatic This w...
05/16/2026

.
Saturday History Lesson with
The History Fanatic


This weekend we are talking about:
–The Metzger Store–

The familiar old store with its pyramid roof topped by a distinctive cupola stood at the corner of Navarre and Wheeling for nearly 100 years, giving the intersection the name Metzgers Corners.
The store which supplied the pioneer settlers of Brandville with their daily needs, survived to see Oregon become an incorporated municipality and to watch St. Charles Hospital rise from a field across the street.
Built in 1870 by French settlers, the store was taken over a year later by Victor Metzger, who continued to run the business for the rest of his life. It was built on the farm of Henry Brand, after whom the Brandville area was named.
Nearby, on the Woodville Plank Road, Miss Mary Elliot was teaching school at Matthew's Corners. She no doubt traded at Mr. Metzger's store, because soon afterward, in 1873, they became husband and wife.
The store grew along with the settlement of Brandville. Late in her life, in the 1930, the widowed Mrs. Metzger told George Pearson(Pearson Park) the early days of the business. It was speculated that the high cupola on the roof was used as an observation tower to watch out for Indians. Mrs. Metzger said the roof was designed that way simply to conform to the architecture of the rest of the building. The tower, though, must have had an excellent view of all the surrounding farms that stretched away for miles.
Many of the well known pioneer families would have walked the old floorboards of the Metzger store. The Coys, Plumeys, Millers, Rideouts, Schneiders, Gladieuxs, Schmidlin and Messers, and many others would have been regular customers there.
Mrs. Metzger survived her husband and continued to run the store, but after her death the building remained boarded up for years. By the late 1960's Metzger's Corners had become part of a busy community. In the late 1960's Metzger's Store was torn down.

History and Pictures Provided by: Oregon-Jerusalem Historical Society Archive

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1133 Grasser Street
Oregon, OH
43616

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