Crestline in Crawford County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Crestline Community Service Center
19421946
Photographed by J. J. Prats, July 1, 2018
1. Crestline Community Service Center Marker
From 1942 until 1946, members of local churches and two railroad auxiliaries operated a community-based free canteen for passing troops on the platform of the Pennsylvania Railroad station. A grateful region honored approximately 1.2 million of the nations sons and daughters with welcoming words, sandwiches, pies, cakes, cookies, fruits drinks, and other sundries. Staffed and funded entirely by volunteers, donations came from many communities in eight counties. Crestlines children donated their pennies to pay for construction of a larger canteen in 1943. Volunteers met as many as 25 trains daily. They served troops on passenger trains, troop trains, and hospital trains and new recruits and returning veterans as well as troops from allied countries on their trips to and from Europe or the Pacific. Throughout World War II, many other canteens were created across the nation, including many in Ohio. The Crestline regions reputation was enhanced immeasurably by the volunteers service.
Erected 2008 by The Crestline Advocate and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 10-17.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • War, World II
this page online
Location. 40° 47.099′ N, 82° 44.208′ W. Marker is in Crestline, Ohio, in Crawford County. It is at the intersection of North Seltzer Street and Union Street, on the right on North Seltzer Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 N Seltzer St, Crestline OH 44827, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Till Plains. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Crestline War Memorial (here, next to this marker); J. F. McMahon - A. F. Bement (approx. 0.6 miles away); Crestline PRR Roundhouse (approx. 0.9 miles away); Gates Brown Field (approx. 1.1 miles away); To the Memory of Colonel Wm. Crawford (approx. 2½ miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.8 miles away); Big Four Depot (approx. 4.3 miles away); Galion Veterans Memorial / Flag Plaza (approx. 4.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Crestline.
Also see . . . A Brief History of Crestline, Ohio's WW II Canteen. Article by Scott D. Trostel with photographs of the Crestline Canteen. “Marie Moran, in adjacent Crestline, Ohio, just four miles further north was determined to open a community canteen there and to feed the soldiers
Photographed by Alex Krempasky, April 18, 2023
2. Crestline Community Service Center Marker
“Crestline was a vital junction of the New York Central Railroad and the strategic Pennsylvania Railroad, whose mainline between Chicago and Philadelphia passed through the heart of the Village. It was just a small town, but it was a giant in terms of railroad facilities on the PRR. Every train changed locomotives and crews. There were massive yards and equally large locomotive service facilities. Like many of the canteens, this one popped up in a small railroad town.
“On August 18, 1942, Marie called a community meeting, asking members of all churches, lodges and other social groups to meet in the Mayors office. It was proposed at that time to conduct a local canteen center on lines similar to Margaret Clingermans efforts at Bellefontaine. They would provide sandwiches, doughnuts,, pies, cakes, cookies, coffee, fruit, cigarettes for servicemen passing through on regular scheduled passenger trains.” (Submitted on July 5, 2018.)
Photographed by J. J. Prats, July 1, 2018
3. Marker with Railroad Tracks in the Distance
The Pennsylvania Railroad station is no more. Its location is the parking lot that can be seen in the distance.
Photographed by Craig Doda, September 20, 2025
4. Crestline Community Service Center Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 23, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 5, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 558 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 5, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 2. submitted on May 13, 2023, by Alex Krempasky of Obetz, Ohio. 3. submitted on July 5, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 4. submitted on September 21, 2025, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio.
