Evansport celebrated 175th birthday in grand style!

     The town of Evansport was filled on June 26, 2010 as the village celebrated a big birthday and let everyone know that there’s plenty of life left with their theme, “Still Alive at 175!”
     The day’s events started with a proclamation by Congressman Bob Latta along with an arts and crafts display in the fire hall and a large historical center that overflowed with photos and displays in the Evansport United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. A few hours later, a historical marker was dedicated in front of the Tiffin Township Fire Department and the newest members of the community to those who lived in the town for many years pulled back the cover to show the words of history forever captured there.
     Food stands throughout the town fed the crowds and at 1:00 p.m. a giant parade stretching for more than a mile passed down the main street.
Live music played for entertainment while children enjoyed games and adults tried their hand at the cornhole tournament.
     A gathering of elders at the Methodist Church was held at 4:00 p.m. delighting the crowd with tales of memories of events that happened through the years in the town.
     Congratulations to the Evansport Terquasquicentennial Committee and all who worked and planned for the celebration!
     For more photos, click here to go to the Evansport 175th photo webpage.

Evansport Historical Tour garners big crowd

     Over 125 people turned out to learn more about the history of Evansport in the first event of the Evansport Terquasquicenntial Celebration. A historical tour of the town was held on Sunday, May 2, 2010 by the celebration committee and the Stryker Area Heritage Council with stops throughout the town and an interpreter to explain the historical significance of each place.
     Kevin Maynard welcomed the group to the beginning of the tour at the Evansport United Methodist Church and Tanya Brunner presented a program about the history of the church and other churches in the community through the years.
     Richard Cooley spoke about the mills in Evansport through the years, while Tanya Brunner welcomed guests to the Snider mansion at the next stop of the tour.
     Mr. Maynard gave a look back at past businesses in Evansport through the years as he spoke to the crowd from in front of the former Evansport Oil Company store.
     The crowd then gathered at the new Tiffin Township Fire Station to hear Kevin talk about the former schools in the town and Add Brunner reviewed the history of the fire department.
     Tanya Brunner and the Stryker area Heritage Council members had displays at the fire station. Thanks to Tanya, Kevin, Richard, as well as Rose Burkholder, Cathy Cooley, Sue and Ben Buehrer who all spoke to people at the displays and helped answer their questions after the programs.
     Also a big thank you to the Fireflies, the fire department auxiliary, who provided refreshments for the group!
     Bill Priest recorded the presentations and has put them into a 2-DVD set that is available by the Stryker Area Heritage Council (Special thanks to Patty Fruth who helped Bill by carrying one of the cameras around to the sites so the presentations could be recorded!).
     And thanks to everyone who came. Some people were able to give additional information at each stop, which made it fun, and others asked questions that ended up with some pretty interesting answers! Thanks to everyone who helped make it a great day!

DVDs of the Evansport historical tour are available from SAHC

     DVDs of the Evansport historical tour held in May just before the big 175th celebration have been produced and are available for purchase from SAHC. They include information about the churches in town, the mills, businesses in town, the schools and the Tiffin Township Fire Department. Just contact us and we’ll get you a copy of the 2-DVD set!.

Tour brochure available on-line

     For those who didn’t get a copy of the Evansport Historical Tour brochure during the tour on May 2 and would like a copy, click here or click on the photo of the brochure. You can print out a copy for yourself.
     While the brochures were distributed for use at the tour, they can be used for a self-guided tour anytime in the village.

Ever seen the original plat map of Evansport?

     Want to see what the original plat map of Evansport looked like (well, really, it’s a copy)? The following graphic is from the Defiance County Engineer’s website, and it includes a lot of wonderful information. In case you can’t read the fine print (and the print is pretty tiny in this picture), there’s a translation (as best I can read it) below the map. Or click here to look at the map yourself.

“Map of Evansport

Evansport Town Plat
Notes and references connected with the subjoined Plat. The lots are right rods long and four rods wide except the fractional lots which are as represented on the Plat. The streets are four rods wide except the street on the West side which is two rods wide. The alleys are eighty hundreths of a chain wide. A stone is planted on the North East corner of lot No. Twenty five from which to commerce future surveys.
Amos Evans (seal)
A. G. Evans (seal)
Jacob Coy (seal)

I do hereby certify this to be a correct Plat and Field Notes of a Town laid out on Section three Township five North of range four East Williams County Ohio surveyed for Albert G. Evans, Amos Evans and Jacob Coy (Proprietors) December 14th 1835
Miller Arrowsmith
Dept County Surveyor Wms Cty. Ohio

The State of Ohio
Williams County
Personally appeared before me Amos Evans Albert G. Evans and Jacob Coy who acknowledged the within(?) Map or Plat of said Town of Evansport to be a correct Plat according to the notes subjoined that is as far as the lots are numbered which are numbered up correctly to No 87 and acknowledged and admitted said plat to record accordingly this December 14 1835.
Foreman(?) Evans
Associate Judge (seal)

The above plat was received for record Dec 14 A.D. 1835 And recorded Dec 20 1835
John Evans Recorder
Transcribed June 24th 1848 S. S. Case Recorder of Defiance Co.
Transcribed May 13th 1897.”

New Evansport road signs remember community heritage

     The Evansport Terquasquicentenni al Committee, in cooperation with the Tiffin Township Trustees, erected new Evansport town limits signs—one of many planned activities to commemorate the village’s 175th anniversary in 2010.      Committee members (left to right) Kevin Maynard, Kit Salisbury, Casey Salisbury and John Schaufele are shown with one of the signs, along with Jane Trocha (right) of Defiance, who suggested the sign’s tagline, “Celebrating Farms, Family and Friends Since 1835.” (Stryker Area Heritage Council photo).

New Evansport historic photos page added

     There’s a new page full of historic photos of the Evansport area. Click here to view the photos and check them out.

     Got an old photo of the Evansport area. Why not send us a copy at info@strykerahc.org??? Perhaps we can use it in the collection!

Evansport 175th committee worked hard on anniversary events

     Committee members include (front) Kit Salisbury; second row (l to r), Gaye Schaufele, John Schaufele, Rose Burkholder, Jamie Wonders and Casey Salisbury; third row, Don Rethmel, Tanya Brunner, Ben Buehrer, Terry Creighton, Sue Buehrer, Fred Schaufele, Merle Koeppe, Cecelia Brown and Kevin Maynard. (SAHC photo)

     The Stryker Area Heritage Council has created a trifold brochure on Evansport’s history featuring information on the town’s creation and its mills, post office, school, churches, band, industries, utilities, fire department and floods.
     Simply click on the photo of the Evansport Mill to get the brochure. You will need Adobe Reader for the brochure to come up.