The Waterville Story

This article is about the booklet, the “Waterville Story” which was written in 1956 by the Waterville Elementary School seventh grade social studies teacher, Mrs. Estelle Wreede. As a class project for extra credit, the students were to visit neighbors and business owners who could tell them stories and information about the historic small town of Waterville, Ohio. They would then turn in their reports and photos to Mrs. Wreede, which she then in turn wrote the stories for the booklet. Mrs. Wreede and several of the parents drove the students to the homes and various historic sites. Some of the places visited were: Miltonville, the abandoned settlement directly across the river; the Fallen Timbers Monument; Turkey Foot Rock; Rupp Canal Store on Third Street; Roche de Boeuf Rock, and the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad Bridge (The Interurban Bridge). One very interesting visit was to an old Spanish Villa overlooking Roche de Boeuf. It was built in 1923 by George Stevens, the first director of the Toledo Museum of Art. The students reported that they had never seen anything like it and it was so beautiful and it looked like a castle. Later it became a nursing home.

The location  of the clock tower at the corner of Farnsworth and the A.W. Trail was once a home, an ice cream shop and a couple of restaurants. At the end of Farnsworth at River Road is the location of the famous Columbian House. It was built by the founder of Waterville, John Pray, in 1828. It was first a hotel where Henry Ford and his wife once stayed. Also, it once housed a tavern, a jail, post office and school. In later years, it was the home of a famous restaurant, a doctor’s office, an insurance office and antique store. It is now owned by the Parker family.

Across from the Columbian House is now Parker Square which at one time was the location of the Waterville School since 1885. There were many re-builds, additions and in 1953, when Waterville, Whitehouse, Monclova and Neapolis schools consolidated into Anthony Wayne High School, located in Whitehouse, Ohio, this school became grades K thru 8th grades. The building was demolished in 2017 and the school was moved to the new Waterville Primary School on Sycamore. Several longtime residents that the students visited in their homes to hear stories of old time Waterville were Florence Starkweather, Ernest Hook, Clarence Shoemaker and Herman Rupp.

In 1973, a re-print of the ”Waterville Story” was produced by members of the Waterville Mother’s Club. Included in that booklet are articles and photos of that time and a photo of the class of 1956 (including author of this article). These booklets are no longer in print, but if you would like to read them, you can visit the Wakeman Archives Center on the second floor of the old Masonic building at 401 Farnsworth Road. It is open 10 to 2 every Wednesday and the last Saturday of the month May through October.

Editor’s note: Estelle Wreede, in 1964 was both a founding member and vocal supporter of the Waterville Historical Society.