History Happens Here…

First Raiload Through Perrysburg in 1858 , Years ago a town without a railroad was seldom destined for growth. By the late 1840s new railroads approached Toledo from all directions and the challenge was to get one through Perrysburg. In 1858 the first "Iron Horse” puffed into town and in 1859 a north-south line was completed from Cincinnati. By 1861 Perrysburg had a two-story depot and a large frame engine house. In 1929, double tracks began handling passenger and freight trains at all hours of the day and night.

219-223-225 Lucas Building/Broske's Restaurant , For forty years this late 1800s building was the grocery store and family home of Harry Lucas. Other store owners followed until Margaret Schubert Broske opened her restaurant with Frank, on July 1, 1949. She rented it from Rufus Young, who also ran an ice cream store on the site. In 1957, Broske's expanded further into the building by adding a pizza business. Her enterprise endured two fires but always bounced back, operating the restaurant for 42 years until the day she died at age 74 in 1991. The Perrysburg mural that was on the wall of her restaurant was restored by a concerned citizen committee and is displayed in the Witzler-Shank Funeral Home lobby.

Perrysburg Grain and Seed Company , In 1916, a grain elevator was built by area farmers on the west side of Elm Street along the railroad tracks between Elm and Louisiana. It operated here until 1952 when the cooperative constructed a new elevator next to St. Rose Cemetery. The original grain elevator buildings on Elm Street were eventually torn down and in 1965 ground was broken for the Elm House on the site. The new grain elevator is known as Perrysburg Grain and Supply Association.

231 Sunny Service Gas Station , In 1923, Ernie and Dick Hoffmann built this station and operated it until 1957 when Ernie's sons, Bob and Tom, took it over. Autos used the front pumps while farmers, visiting the grain elevator, used the side ones. Also known as Perrysburg's Low Priced Station, the town's only independently-owned station not only sold gas, but also, oil, kerosene and lubricants. From a pit on the premises, oil changes were provided for customers. In 1996, a new building was constructed selling gas and convenience items until the Hoffmanns sold it in 2002. Sunoco ran the station until 2010 and in 2012, Waterford Bank bought the site and built its new structure on the property.