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History...Tiffin owes its growth to transportation, leadership
By Malinda Ruble
Staff Writer
About 100 years ago, Tiffin began to bloom into a city, leading the way for Seneca County.
'The town has grown since 1817 with the help of good transportation, natural gas and good leadership,' said Rosalie Adams, director of the Seneca County Museum.
In the early days, the mayor of Tiffin was Jeremiah Rex, the fire chief was Henry Weimer and the marshall was Lloyd Lease.
'Tiffin had 11 churches and one college -- Ursuline Convent. There were about 30 societies and 12 Catholic societies. We had 11 newspapers, one opera house, eight banks and two railways and two libraries.
'The town had 57 public buildings, halls, blocks etc. and four parks,' Adams said.
But a large portion of the area, remained farmland.
'This shows great progression and growth in just 82 years. Along with the above was some of the best farm land in Ohio making agriculture a prime in importance for us,' she said.
The city also had plenty of lawyers.
'There were 37 law firms. The business directory of that time is far too extensive to list ... but each one has many stories to tell and some are very interesting and even scandalous. Almost 150 categories of businesses were listed in 1899 with some 670 individual business or professional persons. This did not count the county,' she said.
There were breweries thriving, 35 grocery stores, eight hotels, 21 dressmakers, 36 physicians, 11 restaurants, 43 saloons and four undertakers.
The population was about 10,000 for Tiffin and 41,000 for Seneca County.
'Looking back at this time period could be called one of the most progressive/and enterprising in our history as it set the pace for all of future ventures in Seneca County,' Adams said.
Area industry
Tiffin
The following information is courtesy of the Tiffin Area Chamber of Commerce.AIMCO
1650 Richland Drive
P.O. Box 10
(419) 447-5959
Product: Industrial lift assist equipment, pneumatic lifting systems
American Fine Sinter Co. LTD.
957 N. Maule Road
(419) 443-8880
Product: Automobile parts-valve seats, rotors, sprockets and housing
American Standard Inc.
324 Fourth Ave.
P.O. Box 279
(419) 447-7515
Product: Vitreous china sanitary ware
Ameriwood Industries
458 Second Ave.
(419) 447-7448
Product: RTA furniture
Arnold Machine
19 Heritage Drive
(419) 443-1818
Product: Manufacturing - special machinery, machined and fabricated products
Atlas Industries
401 Wall St.
(419) 447-4730
Product: Precision machining-manifolds, hubs, connecting rods, crankshafts
Ballreich Brothers Inc.
186 Ohio Ave.
P.O. Box 186
(419) 447-1814
Product: Potato chips and sell full-line of snacks
The Baumgardner Co. Inc.
47 Miami St.
(800) 734-3043
(419) 447-3043
Product: Septic tanks, builders’ supplies, fireplaces and stoves
C.G. Meyer & Sons
18 Ann St.
(419) 447-3655
Product: Fabric awnings/commercial/backlit
C.S. Bell Co.
170 W. Davis St.
P.O. Box 291
(419) 448-0791
Product: Manufacturers of size reduction, grinding machinery, and conveyors
Chembond Adhesive Inc.
108 Adams St.
(419) 447-7093
Product: Adhesive
Crystal Traditions of Tiffin Inc.
145 Madison St.
(419) 448-4286
Product: Handblown glass, hand engraved and sand carved glass and crystal giftware, awards and trophies; acid polishing of glass and crystal for artisans and manufacturers.
E-Systems Design and Automation Inc.
226 Heritage Drive
P.O. Box 165
(419) 443-0220
Product: Robotics, specialty equipment, automation
F&H Blacktop Sealing Inc.
1843 S. SR 100
(419) 447-9678
Product: Blacktop patching, scaling, striping, dust control, Jennite sealer
Fry Foods Inc.
99 Maule Road
P.O. Box 837
(419) 448-0831
Product: Frozen breaded or battered vegetables and cheeses
Genex/CRI
752 E. SR 18
P.O. Box 607
(419) 447-6262
Product: Dairy and beef bull semen/embryos
Greif Bros. Corp.
277 Wall St.
(419) 448-4412
Product: Corrugated packaging
Horizon Technology Group
1988 CR 593
(419) 447-2221
Product: Supplier of cold formed metal products to the automotive industry
Industrial Tools & Spray Equipment (ITSCOR)
280 Heritage Drive
(419) 447-5582
Product: Distributor for Industrial Finishing Equipment & Systems
J.H. Plastics Inc.
4720 W. SR 224
(419) 443-9627
Product: Injected molded plastics
Laminate Technologies Inc.
161 Maule Rd.
(419) 448-0812
Product: Laminated wood products
National Machinery LLC
161 Greenfield St.
P.O. Box 747
(419) 443-2211
Product: Cold forging machinery and services, morphic high impact cutoff machines, contract machining services, machinery rebuilding
OCECO Inc.
1616 S. CR 1
P.O. Box 159
(419) 447-0916
Product: Vapor conservation and fire prevention equipment for liquid storage vessels; digester gas control equipment
Owens Corning
145 Heritage Drive
(419) 448-6911
Product: Fabricated insulation materials
Palfinger USA, Inc.
4151 W. SR 18
P.O. Box 158
(419) 443-8431
Product: Distributer of cranes and hoists
Progress Plastic Product, Inc. - Tiffin Division
1780 S. CR 1
(419) 447-4747
Product: Thermoplastic products for the appliance, building and consumer automotive industry
Quick Tab II, Inc.
241 Heritage Drive
P.O. Box 723
(419) 448-6622
Product: Continuous checks, forms and letterheads, labels, statements, cut sheet, laser checks/forms, fliers, brochures
Riverside Engine, Inc.
7381 S. SR 231
(419) 927-6838
Product: Complete automotive, truck, industrial and agriculture engine building and rebuilding, crankshaft grinding and valve grinding; custom engine rebuilding and truck, industrial, performance and racing engine building
Sarka Sheet Metal & Fabrication, Inc.
70 Clinton Ave./87 Clinton Ave. (Rear)
(419) 447-4377
Product: Sheet metal design, fabrication and installation, specialty conveyers and automated equipment
SCI Corporation-Seneca Environmental Products Inc. & Continental/Fremont Inc.
1685 S. CR 1
P.O. Box 429
(419) 447-1282
(419) 448-4045
Product: Air and sound pollution control equipment, steel tanks and steel plate fabrication for process, pollution, oil, water and petrochemical storage markets nationwide
Seislove Burial Vault Co.
2168 S. SR 100
(419) 447-5473
Product: Burial vaults (top seal and air seal), catch basins, cisterns, and septic tanks of all sizes
Seneca Sheet Metal Inc.
277 Water St.
(419) 447-8434
Product: Sheet metal fabrication and installation
Sonoco Products Co.
60 Heritage Drive
(419) 448-4428
Product: Protective packaging products for appliance, office products
Stacy Equipment Co.
Division of Webster Industries
325 Hall St.
(419) 447-6903
Product: Industrial power transmission equipment, motors, V-drives, chain drives, bearings, couplings, speed reducers
Taiho Corp. of America
194 Heritage Drive
(419) 443-1645
Product: Manufacturer of metal component parts used in assembly for automotive use
Tiffin Foundry & Machinery Inc.
SW corner of Adams and Gilmore streets
(419) 447-3991
Product: Melting pots, machined plungers, nozzles, goosenecks and general alloyed castings
Tiffin Loader Crane Co.
4151 W. SR 18
(419) 448-8156
Product: Palfinger knuckle boom crane, attachments, scale testing carts, van bodies
Tiffin Metal Products Co.
450 Wall Street
(419) 447-8414
Product: Manufacturers billboards, coin-operated security lockers, metal cabinets, ergonomic furniture, custom sheet metal fabrication
Tiffin Parts
235 Miami St.
(419) 447-6545
Product: Industrial crane and forklift parts, forestry equipment parts, material handling equipment
Tiffin-Scenic Studios, Inc.
146 Riverside Drive
P.O. Box 39
(419) 447-1546
Product: Stage drapery and stage rigging
Toledo Molding and Die, Inc.
1441 N. Maule Rd.
(419) 443-9031
Product: Plastics - automotive
Webster Industries Inc.
325 Hall St.
(419) 447-8232
Product: Engineering class chains for automotive, forestry, agriculture, waste disposal, etc.