Sylvania in Lucas County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Toledo and Western Railway Company
Ohio Historical Marker
Photographed by Dale K. Benington, May 20, 2016
1. Toledo and Western Railway Company Marker
Close up view of side A of the marker.
Inscription.
Toledo and Western Railway Company. . Side A,
Toledo and Western Railway Company. , Sylvania was once the headquarters for the Toledo and Western Railway, an electric interurban line that provided service between Toledo and Pioneer with a branch line to Adrian, Michigan. Construction began here in 1900 with planning and specifications set to steam railroad standards. With completion of rails, a powerhouse, maintenance facilities, and offices, the Toledo and Western Railway Company was soon in the business of providing freight and passenger service and was especially competitive as it owned more freight engines than most interurban lines. Operating an electric interurban line also meant that the company had the ability to provide electricity to people living in Sylvania and to other communities and property owners living along the line's right-of-way. Besides freight, passengers, and electricity, Toledo and Western also provided postal service, one of the first interurban lines to do so.
[continued on other side]. Side B,
Toledo and Western Railway Company. ,
[continued from other side]. Interurban lines, such as the Toledo and Western Railway Company, were an important means of transportation for all people in the early twentieth century. However they were especially vital to rural residents as they offered them the opportunity to enjoy the cultural, educational, and economic advantages of nearby urban centers like Toledo. All this was not to last however. Like the canal era that ended with the coming of railroads and interurban lines, the railways were doomed by improved roads and increasing use of cars, trucks, and buses. The Great Depression of the 1930s that brought loss of freight business further eroded the profitability of the interurban lines. For the Toledo and Western Railway Company, freight business declined, passenger service ended in 1932, and the company was totally abandoned in 1935.
Side A
Toledo and Western Railway Company
Sylvania was once the headquarters for the Toledo and Western Railway, an electric interurban line that provided service between Toledo and Pioneer with a branch line to Adrian, Michigan. Construction began here in 1900 with planning and specifications set to steam railroad standards. With completion of rails, a powerhouse, maintenance facilities, and offices, the Toledo and Western Railway Company was soon in the business of providing freight and passenger service and was especially competitive as it owned more freight engines than most interurban lines. Operating an electric interurban line also meant that the company had the ability to provide electricity to people living in Sylvania and to other communities and property owners living along the line's right-of-way. Besides freight, passengers, and electricity, Toledo and Western also provided postal service, one of the first interurban lines to do so.
[continued on other side]
Side B
Toledo and Western Railway Company
[continued from other side]
Interurban lines, such as the Toledo and Western Railway Company,
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were an important means of transportation for all people in the early twentieth century. However they were especially vital to rural residents as they offered them the opportunity to enjoy the cultural, educational, and economic advantages of nearby urban centers like Toledo. All this was not to last however. Like the canal era that ended with the coming of railroads and interurban lines, the railways were doomed by improved roads and increasing use of cars, trucks, and buses. The Great Depression of the 1930s that brought loss of freight business further eroded the profitability of the interurban lines. For the Toledo and Western Railway Company, freight business declined, passenger service ended in 1932, and the company was totally abandoned in 1935.
Erected 2008 by City of Sylvania and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 54-48.)
Marker is in Sylvania, Ohio, in Lucas County. It is on South Main Street south of Monroe Street, on the right when traveling north. This marker faces the west side of the roadway, and is located on a very narrow strip of landscaping, situated between the sidewalk and the Sautter's Food Center's parking lot, very near the bridge that spans the Ottawa River. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5505 South Main Street, Sylvania OH 43560, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Lake Erie Shore and in the Toledo Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Midwest, on the Great Lakes, 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.
View of the marker, looking north along South Main Street.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on May 20, 2016, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,327 times since then and 53 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 20, 2016, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio.
