Forty-five years before the drilling of the famous 1859 Colonel Drake oil well in Pennsylvania, oil was produced and marketed from salt brine wells dug in southeast Ohio. The oil was bottled and sold as a cure-all medicine, Seneca Oil. In 1860, one of the first oil fields in Ohio was discovered approximately 10 miles southeast of these wells. The 1885 discovery of the giant Lima-Indiana oil field set off the oil boom of northwest Ohio, a period of land speculation and rapid oil field development that lasted over 20 years and propelled Ohio into the leading oil-producing state from 1895 to...

Twelve railroad lines served west central Ohio around 1907 and were the lifeblood of the communities they ran through. Bellefontaine, Bradford, and Crestline became major terminals, and lesser known places like Dola, Ohio City, and Peoria also owe their existence to the iron horse. Around 300 depots served the west central region, with the earliest dating to the late 1840s. The depot was the center of activity in the smallest village to the largest city. Many of the depots no longer exist--victims of progress, nature, or neglect. Some survive as historical museums, various businesses, and...