1824 - CHRISTOPHER STARK WOOD
Christopher Stark Wood brought his family to Allen County in 1824. A typical pioneer, Christopher Wood has been named the "Father of Lima." He was the first Clerk of Bath Township and was named Town Director in 1831 when Lima and Allen County were established.

1828 - JAMES DANIEL'S CABIN
James Daniel's Cabin was built in 1828 by this pioneer Allen County Commissioner. This cabin was the first seat of government where meetings of the Bath Township trustees were held in 1829 and the first meeting of the Allen County Commissioners June 6, 1831. Here, too, was held the meeting at which the name "Lima" was selected. Daniel's land and cabin site adjoined the east line of the original 160 acre site of Lima. A historical marker has been placed on the site at Market and Bellefontaine Avenue.

1829 - FIRST LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The first local government was established in Allen County when Bath Township was organized in 1829 with Christopher Stark Wood as its first Clerk. Jurisdiction of the township covered most of the present-day area of Allen and Auglaize Counties.

1831 - SETTLEMENT OF LIMA
The Ohio Legislature directed that a county seat for Allen County be established and this was done April 20, 1831. The town was named after Lima, Peru, the source of the "quinine bark" used for the treatment of "swamp fever" or malaria in pioneer days. Original boundaries of Lima were North Street on the north, West Street in the west, Ottawa River on the south and Central Avenue on the east, with a "parade ground", our present public square, in the center. Lima was incorporated in 1842.

1845 - MIAMI & ERIE CANAL
The Miami & Erie Canal was completed in 1845, passed through Delphos, 15 miles west of Lima and was Lima's first commercial outlet with the outside world. Jacob Bogart opened a stage line to Wapakoneta in 1846. The Ohio and Indiana Railroad reached Lima in 1854.

1869 - LUMBER CENTER
By the 1860's, the cutting and marketing of timber was a major industry in Allen County. Carnes, Harper & Co., formed in 1869 for the manufacture of sawmill machinery and was the forerunner of the Baldwin - Lima - Hamilton Corporation. The Shay Locomotive, first built by this company in 1880, played in important part in the development of the lumbering and mining industry in the U.S. during the last two decades of the 19th Century. One of these locomotives is on display at the Allen County Historical Society Museum.

1885 - DISCOVERY OF OIL
Since oil was discovered May 19, 1885, in a gas well being drilled at Benjamin C. Faurot's paper mill, Lima has held an important place in the oil industry. The development of the Lima Field led to its being, for a time, the largest in the nation. A historical marker has been placed near the site at the east of North Street crossing of the Ottawa River.

1887 - FIRST SUCCESSFUL ELECTRIC STREET CAR SYSTEM
Benjamin C. Faurot purchased Lima's horse drawn street railway in 1886 and converted it to electric power. The line was put into operation July 4, 1887, the first in Ohio and one of the first in the United States. A historical marker has been placed on the building at 216 North Elizabeth Street commemorating this event.

1900 - ELECTRIC INTERURBAN SYSTEM
The rapid development of the nation's railroad systems and the introduction of the electric interurban, the motor truck and automobile as a common means of transportation resulted in remarkable growth in Lima industry and business. The Western Ohio Railway Company, which linked Lima to Piqua and later Dayton, became the first of the electric interurban lines that were to make Lima an interurban center. At the peak of its development it was possible to travel almost entirely by electric interurban cars from New York City to Chicago by way of Lima, Ohio. Until the early 1930's, the interurban held a prominent place in the commercial industry and civic life of the community.

1918 - LIBERTY MOTOR TRUCK
Designed and built in Lima by B.A. Gramm, pioneer motor truck builder, this famous truck "put the American Army on wheels" in World War I. During the 1920's, Lima, with 41,326 persons in the city and 68,223 in the county, greatly expanded its industrial and commercial resources. More industries were established; there were seven banks and five interurban lines. Traffic lights were installed in 1927 and an airport was built. New real estate development spread beyond the corporation lines. By 1930, Lima's population was 42,287 and the county 69,419. Lima celebrated its Centennial in 1931. The first radio station was opened in 1936 and motor busses replaced the electric street cars in 1939.

1940 - WORLD WAR II
By 1940, Lima's population totaled 44,711 with 73,303 persons in Allen County. During World War II, Lima industry ranked high in the production of transportation equipment such as locomotives and army and navy vehicles, General Sherman tanks, power shovels and cranes, electric motors and electric equipment for aircraft, marine Deissel engines and steel castings. One of the nation's three modification centers for tanks and motorized military vehicles was built here and was operated on a peacetime basis as the Lima Ordinance Depot.

1950 - LIMA'S POPULATION
Lima's population totaled 50,246 in the 1950 Census and the county with a total of 88,183 was designated as a Standard Metropolitan Area by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Since then, many new and expanded industries and businesses have been added to Lima's growing roster of business firms with a 10 county trading area having a population of over 400,000 persons.

TODAY
Lima's Allen County Historical Museum, at 620 West Market Street, reviews the area's colorful past. Other features include the MacDonell House, a log cabin, the Shay Locomotive and a railway exhibit at Lincoln Park. Additional historical and statistical information about the Lima area can be secured at the Lima Chamber of Commerce.

Information provided by the Lima-Allen County Convention & Visitors Bureau.