Center City in Toledo in Lucas County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The Blade
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 28, 2018
1. The Blade Marker (side 1)
The Toledo Blade is the city's oldest continuing business. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835, during the Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute known as the "Toledo War." The name is derived from that conflict and the famous swords of Toledo, Spain. A copy of the first edition and two gift swords from that Spanish city are displayed inside the Blade Building.
David Ross Locke, editor (1865-1888), made The Blade nationally known. Using the pseudonym, Petroleum V. Nasby, Locke gained fame for his satirical Nasby Letters and advocacy of social reforms.
On May 1, 1927, President Coolidge assisted Paul Block, Blade publisher (1926-1941), by touching a gold key at the White House to officially start the presses at this location.
Erected 1987 by Toledo Sesquicentennial Commission and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 19-48.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #30 Calvin Coolidge, and the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is May 1, 1927.
Location. 41° 39.299′ N, 83° 32′ W. Marker is in Toledo
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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Engine House Number One / Neptune Engine No. 1 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Toledo (about 400 feet away); James A. Rhodes Plaza (about 500 feet away); Project Blue Light (about 500 feet away); Combat Veterans Wounded Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Boundary Between Rival Pioneer Villages (approx. 0.2 miles away); Lucas County Civil War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Trinity Episcopal Church (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Toledo.
Also see . . .
1. David Ross Locke. David Ross Locke was an American journalist and early political commentator during and after the American Civil War. During the war, he edited and wrote for the Toledo Blade in Toledo, Ohio, which he purchased in 1867. Locke's fictional alter ego, Nasby, loudly championed the cause of the Confederate States of America from Secession onward, but did little to actively help it. They were consciously intended to rally support for the Union
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 28, 2018
2. The Blade Marker (side 2)
2. The Toledo War: When Michigan and Ohio Nearly Came to Blows. The so-called “Toledo War” had its roots in the shortcomings of 18th century geography. In 1787, Congress drafted the Northwest Ordinance, which stipulated that 260,000 square miles of territory surrounding the Great Lakes would eventually be carved into a handful of new states. Specifically, the law decreed that the border between Ohio and Michigan was to run on “an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan” until it intersected with Lake Erie. There was just one problem: the best available maps depicted Lake Michigan’s southern tip as being several miles north of its true location. As a result, the original border placed the mouth of the Maumee River and the future city of Toledo in northern Ohio rather than in southern Michigan. Ohio and Michigan both had good reason for wanting control of Toledo and the Maumee River. By 1825, the completion of the Erie Canal had linked the Great Lakes to the east coast, presenting valuable opportunities for trade. (Submitted on August 12, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 28, 2018
3. The Blade Marker (wide view; looking north on Superior Street; Blade building in background)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 28, 2018
4. Toledo Blade Building (north side)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 28, 2018
5. Toledo Blade Building
Hauger, Dressel & Hunt (photo courtesy of the Indiana University Libraries), circa 1930
6. Toledo Blade building
Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 11, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 289 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 12, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 6. submitted on August 13, 2018. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
