Classroom

The railroad that goes through Ada, Ohio, completed in 1857, was originally a part of the Ohio &amp; Indiana Railroad. Later in 1869, the railroad became a part of the Southwest Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Ohio Northern University was founded in 1871, which led to the rapid growth of Ada.	Due to the growth of Ada, the Pennsylvania Railroad decided to build a depot station. The original design of the depot was supposed to be that of a standard depot, but the designed changed to a two-story Stick-Eastlake style which was unique for a Pennsylvania Railroad Station. On the second story of the Ada station, there was a telegraph office. 	The Ada station is one of the few Pennsylvania Railroad passenger stations that is still around today. The United States Department of the Interior added the Ada Pennsylvania Railroad and Railroad park to the National Register of Historical Places in 1998. The station is no longer used as a passenger depot, but visitors can still visit the site that now includes an old Pennsylvania Railroad train caboose on the property.

Ada Pennsylvania Station and Railroad Park

Plaque found at Ada Pennsylvania Station and Railroad Park

The Historic Ada, Ohio Pennsylvania Station and Railroad Park Depot in Rural Hardin County

Video

The Pennsylvania Railroad built the Ada Pennsylvania Station and Railroad Park in 1887. The station was used for passenger transportation for many years. In 1998, the Ada station was listed on the National Register of Historical Places. In present day, it is no longer used as a passenger depot but is still able to be visited. 

Ada Pennsylvania Station and Railroad Park 

A tour around the Ohio Northern University's college town of Ada highlighting historic structures and statues.

There are a couple of buildings in Ada that are sure to catch the eye of someone who may be passing through. If coming from the north, the large First United Methodist Church can be seen on the right with the more modern Ada Public Library on the left. Continuing south, at 115 North Main St. is a white and green building with unique brickwork and ‘Cole-Humphrey Insurance’ written in cursive on the side. Once making it over the railroad track, an onlooker will likely notice a modern building housing Liberty National Bank on the left and another church on the right followed by the one screen Ada Theatre with a noticeable marquee in the front. Now, approaching the campus of Ohio Northern University, most of the more beautiful and historic building architecture was likely missed.When traveling again from north to south, the first block after the First United Methodist Church includes two three-story buildings. The first is occupied by Grimslid &amp; Hood law attorneys at 231 North Main St. and is titled “Tressel Block 1914” which, for any football fan, will probably stick out. Lee Tressel, father of the former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, was born in Ada, Ohio and came from a family rooted in the village. Continuing down the street, many of the buildings all have similar names and dates below the façades of the brick buildings. One of the most unique buildings on Main Street that must be mentioned is the rustic yellow building located on the west side of the street just south of the railroad track. This building has the date ‘1900’ engraves in the stone with the name “B.S. Young” eloquently placed between the 19 and the 00. On the second floor, a stained-glass window of a flower acts as the building’s centerpiece.The stained-glass window is not the only beauty that can be found through this three block stretch of road. Just a couple doors down, at 117 South Main St., is a red and white building that has a staircase leading up to the second story. The staircase is open to the environment and has two cast iron pillars flanking either side of the entrance, which aid in holding up the building above. On either side of this building are a couple of additional architectural attractions in the form of decorative eaves that give a 1900s feel to the block. By taking a couple of moments to really observe Main Street in Ada, the architecture does not stop at the couple of buildings mentioned. Remember the Cole-Humphrey Insurance building, it too has stunning brickwork and decorative designs above each of the windows. An old picture of this building can be located above which shows it serving as a First Liberty Bank and includes the date of 1881 displayed on the roof (this likely had to be removed due to structural issues and can't be seen today).Prior to the turn-of-the-century, Main Street served a different purpose than what it does now. The road was brick and occupied by horses and buggies. Main Street was where everyone of the village went to get any necessary item instead of traveling to the nearest Walmart. To get groceries, one would likely visit Keystone Grocery on Bauman block, or go to F.L. Rice on Young block (same building as the stained-glass window). To get meat, there was J.W. McCafferty who was also located next to Young block. There is a picture of an advertisement above from an 1894 newspaper that describes McCafferty selling beef for just 6-10 cents a pound! This was the case for just about everything, residents of the village went to Main Street for harnesses and saddlery, stoves and tin ware, Blacksmiths, and even for jewelry. The unique architecture that is still seen in downtown Ada serves as a reminder of what this small village was built on; it just takes a moment to pause and truly observe the buildings to appreciate what still stands.

The business section of Main Street in Ada stretches just three blocks and straddles the key Pennsylvania Railroad line that once held an important role in the village’s growth. Several turn-of-the-century buildings flank this short stretch of road, with datestones still visible on some façades. From dirt, to brick, and finally to asphalt, the street has seen many businesses, held countless events, and witnessed the growth of the village of Ada.

Main Street, Ada Ohio

Two years after the fire took place, the congregation, along with the help of RCM Architects, Inc., rebuilt the church for its reopening on Easter Sunday, March 2015. This $6 million-dollar project contains features of Gothic-style architecture, while still paying respects to the original, old, stone building. The new stone and brick building has 25,000 square feet of usable space, including a second-floor sanctuary space which can accommodate 240 people, a fellowship hall, and commercial-grade kitchen on the first floor. Additionally, there are rooms of the Children’s Ministry, Christian Education programs, and Ready Set Grow Preschool. The First United Methodist Church also founded and supports ReStore, a ministry to serve low income individuals and families with worship, prayer, education, and social services, while working closely with the local food pantry.  The fire condemned the old church to a total loss. The stained-glass windows were melted, the century-old hand carved woodworking featured throughout the church was consumed, and the only remnants of the altar was the pile of ash left in its place. In fact, all that remained of the Ada First United Methodist Church was the strong stone foundation and the 1,300-pound cast-bronze church bell, but even it was slightly damaged from crashing down through the fire from lack of structural support. The parishioners wanted to save the bell for the new building, but they did not know how or even where to begin with this process until Ohio Northern University Chaplain David MacDonald had an idea for the restoration. This would lead to a unique learning opportunity for ONU students in the form of an EPICS project. EPICS stands for engineering projects in community service, and figuring out how to both restore and display the bell at the church would put the civil engineers’ project management skills to the test.  To begin, engineering students contacted Verdin Bell, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, a company that has been casting and repairing bells for 170 years. With the bell restored, the next step was to determine a method of how to display the bell in the new church. Many trial and error structural analyses were conducted by employees at Verdin Bell Company working together with the ONU engineering students. It was determined that the best way to display the bell would be to sit it on a square pedestal constructed from the same stained white oak lumber that would be used throughout the rebuilt church. The final step of this project was delivery. On February 2, 2015, with the pedestal completed and installed inside the new church, the restored bell was lifted and set. Today, the restored bell occupies a central place in the church entryway right next to the 1899 cornerstone.   Even before the fire, the church held a close relationship with Ohio Northern University, a United Methodist-related institution. The university graciously loaned their on-campus chapel to the First United Methodist congregation for their services until the new church was built. Investigators believed numerous lighted candles were left unattended inside and caused the major fire at the Ada First United Methodist Church. A State Fire Marshal’s office spokesman reported to local newspapers and community members that there was no evidence of criminal intent. However, the fire obliterated the inside of the church preventing authorities from completing their investigation due to safety concerns. Local and neighboring community members reported the smell of smoke continued to linger in the air the day after the fire occurred.   The original name was First Methodist Episcopal Church. However, the name changed to First United Methodist Church in 1968 when the merge between the Methodist denomination and the Evangelical United Brethren denomination occurred. Today, the congregation is comprised of 368 parishioners led by Rev. Brandi Grant-Rigsby, Pastor. First United Methodist Church prides themselves on giving back to the local community because of the tremendous support they received after the fire destroyed their church. Now, First United Methodist Church has many more community support services that were made possible through the efforts of the church members and Ohio Northern University students who came together to coordinate the rebuilding of this important community asset.

The current First United Methodist Church opened in 2014 to replace its predecessor that succumbed to a massive fire two years earlier. The Ada congregation traces its roots to 1852, when it met in an old schoolhouse. It upgraded to a two-story wooden church in 1868, and finally moved to the stone church at the corner of North Main Street and West Highland Avenue on June 18, 1899. However, on March 13, 2012, a massive fire broke out leaving the century-old historic church in ruins. In 2014, Ada First United Methodist Church was rebuilt in the original location for $6 million. 

First United Methodist Church

Ada, Ohio has a long military history, but prior to 1905 the village did not have an armory of its own to complete training and store equipment. On November 2nd, 1905, Congressman R. D. Cole, who was the Major of the Second Regiment (which the Ada Company was a part of) gave the principal address at the dedication for the armory. The building was originally 100 by 50 feet and included an 80 by 50 foot gallery and was built similar to the armory building in Kenton. When the building was not being used for drill, it was utilized to house basketball games and other events that required a large space.  In 1968 there was the possibility of the armory being sold by the State after the passing of Senate Bill 496. To that point, the armory had been used to train hundreds of soldiers through both World Wars and was currently being used for the Vietnam War. The State of Ohio decided not to sell the building until 15 years later when the guardsmen of Ada armory were required to move to Spencerville. In March of 1987, the building was sold at auction to Mr. and Mrs. Schneidhorsts for $31,332. Between the years of 1983 and 1987, when the armory was vacant, it was used for basketball practices and even the annual Halloween parade. Additionally, the building was used as a voting location multiple times. It is unclear what Mr. and Mrs. Schneidhorsts used the building for, but it was used by the Wilson Football Factory as a warehouse at some point between 1987 and 2003. In November of 2005 though, the building debuted as the Armory Bar &amp; Grille by the Reynolds family of Ada after two years of renovations. The restaurant came by popular demand as the residents of Ada wanted a local bar and grill to visit instead of traveling out of town. Finally, after serving multiple purposes in it’s long history, the armory is now the location of Viva Maria’s. The Italian restaurant has left the seating area open and has chosen to decorate around the prominent 1900s architecture rather than covering it up, creating a unique atmosphere to dine in. As mentioned before, the armory has been used as a basketball court multiple times in the past 100 years, and there is even an old basketball hoop in the dining area that hints at this small piece of history. The restaurant serves amazing food with enormous portion sizes at a reasonable price, all while embracing the historic building.

Originally built in 1903, the building located at the corner of N. Johnson St. and E. Buckeye Ave. in Ada, Ohio has served multiple purposes in its 115+ year life. This historic building was dedicated in 1905 as an armory for the National Guard and was utilized through both World Wars and the Vietnam War until 1983 when the armory officially closed. Then, in 1987, the armory was sold by the State of Ohio to Rudy and Ann Schneidhorst and was used primarily as a warehouse and event center until it became the Armory Bar & Grille in 2005. In 2014, Viva Maria’s Italian Restaurant opened in the armory and currently serves arguably the best food in Ada with a unique atmosphere. 

Historical Ada Armory

Wilson is a company dedicated to sport. Originally known as the Ashland Manufacturing Company, Wilson Sporting Goods was founded by Thomas E. Wilson in Chicago, Illinois as a daughter company of “Schwarzchild and Sulzberger” meat packing (later renamed to “Sulzberger &amp; Son’s”). In 1941, Wilson became official provider of game balls for the National Football League, a partnership that continues to this day. Wilson Sporting Goods Company specializes in the manufacturing of sport balls, rackets, uniforms, various other sporting equipment, and apparel.  Sulzberger &amp; Son's, a meat packing company, founded the Ashland Manufacturing Company in 1913 to find a use for the animal-by-products from its slaughterhouses. By 1914, Ashland Manufacturing Company was producing tennis racket strings, violin strings, and surgical sutures, but soon expanded their business into baseball shoes and tennis racquets. In 1915, Thomas E. Wilson was appointed president of the Ashland Manufacturing Company and renamed the business Thomas E. Wilson Company. The company acquired the Hetzinger Knitting Mills to produce athletic uniforms, but soon expanded into footballs and basketballs by also using the animal by-products. In 1931, the business renamed itself Wilson Sporting Goods Company. During World War II, Wilson Sporting Goods Company debuted the Duke football, featuring high-quality leather, ends that were hand-sewn, lock-stitch seams, and triple lining. Wilson’s Duke football was later adopted as the official ball of the National Football League. The Wilson Football Factory is located in the heart of a classic, small, American town. Since the factory’s establishment in 1955, every leather Wilson football has been built by hand in Ada, Ohio by a veteran team of skilled craftsmen and women. This factory is distinguished by its legacy, consistency, commitment, and attention to detail, hallmarks of a tradition dating back to more than 70 years ago. The Wilson Football Factory manufactures more than 700,000 footballs per year for games across the country ranging from high school Friday night lights, to collegiate teams country wide, all the way to National Football League’s most elite professional athletes. Every year, the Wilson Football Factory builds footballs for games, Super Bowl champions, MVPs, and Hall of Fame all stars.  Year round, for $5.00 per person, the Wilson Football Factory employees will provide visitors with an informative and thorough tour of the facility. From cutting, to sewing, turning, lacing, and finally molding, visitors will have the opportunity to experience the steps and machinery involved in producing a football as well as how each football is distributed from factory to field. In 2017, Ada decided to celebrate its football heritage and hosted the inaugural Made in Ada Wilson Football Festival on the night before Super Bowl Sunday. Every year since, hundreds of people gather from near and far to participate in the event’s activities and watch the football drop at midnight to welcome the arrival of the Super Bowl. The event includes performances by local bands, numerous raffles throughout the day to win commemorative Wilson footballs, demonstrations of how footballs are made, and an exhibit by the National Football League Professional Hall of Fame. Wilson pride is evident all over town. One of Ada’s two water towers reads “MADE IN ADA” and is painted with the Wilson logo and the National Football League shield logo. From leather to laces, the Duke football is one hundred percent made in this small northwestern Ohio town. The team of experts who dedicate their life to perfecting every cut and stitch of each football is what makes Wilson unique and desirable to teams across the United States. Wilson is the chosen pigskin for every NFL and NCAA game. Next time you watch, know there is a product made by American workers that contributes to football, one of America’s favorite sports institutions.

Amid the corn and soybean fields of Ada, Ohio, the Wilson Football Factory continues to manufacture hundreds of thousands of footballs per year. The original football factory, called Ohio-Kentucky Industries, was previously located in Cincinnati near the Ohio River. However, in 1937 the river flooded and forced the business to relocate. In 1938, Ohio-Kentucky Industries moved north to Ada and continued to produce baseball mitts and footballs in the new factory. In 1955, Wilson bought Ohio-Kentucky Industries and renamed the brand Wilson Sporting Goods Company. 

Wilson Football Factory

When construction was finished on the Pennsylvania Railroad Depot in 1887, the Village of Ada looked to fill the park in front of it with a monument. They first erected a 15-foot wooden monument to veterans, but soon discovered that the wood could not withstand the Ada weather. In 1892, the town constructed a brick monument that suffered the same issues as the wooden one. In 1902, the town decided to build a proper monument for the Civil War veterans of Ada. A request was sent to the United States Government to obtain a condemned cannon for Ada. The 42-pounder seacoast gun, forged in 1859 at the Tredegar Iron Works, was sent from Fort Mifflin, PA, and arrived in Ada by train in 1903. The dedication ceremony was held on Memorial Day by Ada’s mayor, L.A. Greer. The park remained under ownership of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company until the citizens of Ada purchased the land in 1958. In 2018, cannon got new base to honor Ada’s Union Civil War veterans. A group of two ONU students led by Professor Ray Schuck documented the names of all the Civil War veterans of Ada. They then planned to make bricks with all 81 names they found to be placed around the base of the cannon, to memorialize each of the soldiers. The bricks each list the soldier's name, rank, and his unit. The Village of Ada agreed to cover the cost of the bricks at $32.50 each brick. The commencement ceremony was then held on Memorial Day, 2018, exactly 115 years after the cannon’s original ceremony.

Along Main Street sits Railroad Park, a beautiful, foliage-covered area directly in front of the train depot. Since 1903, the park has been home to a decommissioned Civil War cannon, standing as a memorial to all the soldiers from Ada who fought in the Civil War. In 2018, Ray Schuck, an ONU history professor, and a team of students researched and documented 81 veterans in total, whose names can now be seen on the bricks surrounding the cannon. One of those bricks at the base of the cannon belongs to Henry Solomon Lehr, a Civil War veteran and the founder of Ohio Northern University.

Civil War Memorial Cannon

The post office contractor, Langlois Construction Co., constructed the building in 1938 and received funding from the Federal Treasury Department. The New Deal project consisted of civic facilities, federal facilities, and post offices. With post offices being built, the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture received 1% of the funding to create murals to uplift the citizens suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. The New Deal art project commissioned artists in the United States through competitions, creating murals to be installed in post offices. The murals exhibited in the United States post offices were painted from 1934 to 1943. Around 850 artists received commission to paint 1371 murals. Other programs such as, the Treasury Relief Art Project provided art pieces to federal buildings funded by the Works Progress Administration or WPA.The artists in the New Deal art project constructed only American scene style murals. The Treasury Department insisted on no abstract or modern art styles. In addition, the painting needed to present no controversial subjects and scenes appropriate to the specific location selected. Most of the murals created still are displayed in the post offices and other federal buildings.The Ada post office possess one of the murals created during the Great Depression. The mural, A Country Barn Dance, created by Albert Kotin in 1939, shows a community coming together to enjoy each other’s company. Before entering the Public Works of Art Project, the artist studied in Paris. With the artists selected for the art competition, Kotin, among the 850 was one selected. During the contest, three murals created by Kotin displayed over the lobbies of two different post offices. The mural, A Country Barn Dance, exhibited in the Ada post office, still there today. The mural extends around 12 feet across the postmaster’s door in the lobby of the post office. The mural includes musicians playing for their neighbors of the community, while men and women dance together, the children are playing in the background. The artist, wished to capture the characters that settled in that specific region of Ohio. Kotin aspired to show peace and prosperity in A Country Barn Dance painting.With winning the competition, Kotin also created two other murals, referred to as, The City and The Marsh, displayed in the Arlington post office in Kearny, New Jersey from 1935 to 1943. All three murals painted by Kotin used oil on canvas to create the uplifting murals for the communities. Some other murals featured on the postal series created in the late 1930s through the 1940s known as, Kiowas Moving Camp in Anadarko, Oklahoma, Antelope in Florence, Colorado, Air Mail in Piggott, Arkansas, and a many other are displayed all over the country

The Ada Post Office, built in 1938 as a New Deal construction project, helped citizens find work during the Great Depression. "A Country Barn Dance", a 12-foot mural painted by Albert Kotin, looks over the lobby. One of more than 1300 post office murals painted during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, the artwork intended to boost morale through traditional local scenes. The post office also retains original mailboxes, teller windows with wrought-iron bars, and painted signage above the registry window and postmaster’s office. 

New Deal Mural

David O. Betz, a leading citizen of Ada, was the founder of the Northwestern Ohio School of Piano Tuning. The school was first established in his home of 402 S. Johnson Street in 1906. Betz sold pianos and trained students as technicians to repair pianos. Betz experienced early success and eventually formed a collaboration with Ohio Northern University in 1909. This collaboration allowed music students to enroll with Betz, however no record of university-level credits were given. The university’s catalog advertised the piano school until 1915. Betz was also not listed among the university’s faculty members. However, the piano school did issue diplomas to those who completed their courses. In 1912, Betz moved his school from his home to downtown Ada. The school, being at 226-228 North Main street, was originally a wood frame structure. This wooden building was sold and moved but Bezt owned the lot and he built the brick building that stands there today. After the construction of the new building Betz continued teaching classes and selling pianos, in addition to the pianos he also started selling gramophones. In the Ada telephone directories, during the year 1911 and 1912, there was a name change that was observed from The School of Piano Tuning to The Ada Music House, D.O. Betz Proprietor. During this time period The Ada Music House was described as Hardin County’s largest piano house. A three-course program was offered until 1914 for students to engage in at the school. The first course offered was the action regulating, repairing, voicing and tone regulation, stringing, polishing, and varnishing the pianos. The second course offered was about player piano mechanisms. The last course offered was about organ work. Along with the Ada store Betz also had another store in Crestline, Ohio until 1925. However, in 1925 Betz decided to concentrate his efforts on the Ada store. He relocated the store once again this time to 117 North Main street, where currently the Cole-Humphrey Insurance resides. The store also began selling recording, record players, and household appliances. With these new items being sold the store saw yet another name change, this time to D.O. Betz Music and Furniture House in 1926. In 1927 Betz started selling Atwater Kent radios and piano sales and repairs became a modest part of his business. This may have been due to the Depression forcing him to diversify in order to keep his business running. In March of 1933 Betz had purchased a new store at 115 North Main Street. An advertisement run about Betz new store claimed that Betz would be continuing his music, furniture, and sporting goods store. However, by the fall of 1948 Betz sold his store with the intent of starting a new store, selling only sporting goods, in the rear of his home. This was followed by the challenge of keeping his business running during WWII. Betz continued to be active in local matters, such as serving as Justice of the Peace, until his death in 1956.

Prior to World War I a citizen of Ada might walk down the street listening to the tunes of pianos fill the air. The tunes of the pianos came from players, mechanical pianos and pianists. Pianos were an important form of entertainment in the home and keeping them working in perfect conditions required technicians. These technicians were trained at the Northwestern Ohio School of Piano Tuning by David O. Betz.

The Former School of Piano Tuning

President Belt, the successor to president Lehr, purchased the former tri-county fair grounds in 1903. The fairgrounds were located in the southeast corner of the village, and were eventually split into sections following the purchase. Northern end of the ground was sold for building lots and the rest was turned into the Alumni Field. Alumni Field was used for playing fields and for the military students department to run drills. During, this time athletics were not noticeable but were around for students to participate in. In 1911 the College of Agriculture was established, however the college failed to thrive and was eventually disbanded. Plans to convert the property into something else for the campus to use began. Although those projects were shelved during the First World War. By the end of 1920 the school began constructing the baseball field with bleachers. Later on, by 1923, a football field, track and the groundwork for a tennis court was added. The university had its athletics there until after World War Two.Following the war enrollment at Northern flourished and in need of housing these students a trailer park was established on the athletic grounds. At the same time Ada citizens were looking for ways to memorialize their servicemen. The decision was the current War Memorial Park with its stadium. A mutually beneficial arrangement between Northern and the citizens began, being that Northern would use the stadium in return for assisting in maintaining. This arrangement lasted from 1947 to the end of 2004 when the Dial-Roberson Stadium was opened on campus. The stadium is now used by the Ada high school. The community and Northern still have a bond over the stadium as seen on October 25, 2019 when together they broke a Guinness world record. The record was the most American made footballs thrown simultaneously and with the help of the Wilson Football factory the record was set at the Ada War Memorial Park Stadium.

The land that would become Ada War Memorial Stadium was bought in 1903 and parts of the land turned into Alumni Field. By the fall of 1922 the football field and stadium was constructed with the help of students. A mutually beneficial agreement between the community and ONU was constructed and between the years 1947 and 2004 the students of ONU used the stadium as their home field for sports. It is now currently being used as the home field for the Ada high school.

Ada War Memorial Park Stadium

Henry Solomon Lehr recounts his proposition to the citizens of Ada, in hopes of “raising means to erect a suitable building for a Normal School to be superintended, controlled, and owned by H.S. Lehr.” The citizens of Ada would help to furnish $3,000 for the construction of the Normal School Building, then later refunded by Lehr five years after he commences to use the building. In April 1871, there was a contracted acceptance of building the school for August 1871.With this approval, Lehr began to build the first building of the Ohio Normal School. Lehr even purchased brick himself for the construction. During the construction of the building, it was finally dedicated, even though it was not fully complete. A public dinner was held during the afternoon for twenty-five cents and a concert in the evening. With the coming of the First Fall Term on August 12, 1871, the building still had yet to be completed. Other small issues accompanied the building, such as a leaking roof, and other repairs. The roof was not fixed by contractors until the Spring Term of 1873. The Normal School Building finally stood as H.S. Lehr’s first original building of the Ohio Normal School’s campus. In 1908, an appeal was made to construct a new building, in place of the old one in need of many repairs. The new building would be dedicated to H.S. Lehr, as a celebration to him while he was still living.Lehr Memorial Building was projected to be a $100,000 building, with most of the funds that were gathered described as “free love offerings and generous contributions of all friends and students of Dr. Lehr.” In October 1912, a jubilee was held in order to honor H.S. Lehr and donors to the Memorial fund. Demolition of the old Normal School Building began in October of 1913. One piece of the Normal School Building was kept, however.In May 1914, the cornerstone of Lehr Memorial was placed. This cornerstone was originally part of the steps to the Normal School Building. Now, the new building was not only in better condition than the previous building but allowed the University to have some permanence in the village of Ada. The principal speaker of the ceremony, Ohio Governor Frank Willis, made a key statement that describes the importance of H.S. Lehr’s journey to erect a stable institution of higher learning from rock bottom. He said, “the stepping stone of the old has become the cornerstone of the new.”

Construction of this building began in 1914 and replaced a previous structure that became the first academic building of Ohio Normal School. This building is named in honor of Henry Solomon Lehr who arrived in Ada in 1866 and led the effort to create the institution that grew to become Ohio Northern University. This building replaced one that was constructed largely from Lehr's efforts by gathering support from around the area of Ada. 

Lehr Memorial Building of Ohio Northern University

The first fire in 1889 is said to have started by a student in the basement. Lighting was provided by oil lamps, so a student decided to go in the basement to refill his lamp. With no other way to provide light, the student light a match, filled his lamp, and left, leaving behind the still hot match. The fire then sparked in the basement and was accelerated quickly by the 30 tons of coal and barrels of flammable oil. Luckily, the fire only caused smoke and water damage, which the building's insurance covered for. The fire in 1913 was detected at 2 AM on Tuesday, November 4th, 1913, and quickly spread to engulf the entire building. The damage was catastrophic to the structure, leaving it in ruins. It was then rebuilt to be stronger and has an internal iron frame to better carry the load of the floors better. In October of 1914, the building was dedicated to honor John Wesley Hill, a well known minister in the area.An alum of ONU, John Wesley Hill was a travelling Methodist minister who grew up in northwest Ohio in the 1830s. During his 50-year career as a minister, he traveled around Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Hill was a prominent clergyman in the Midwest, but also was involved with politics heavily, campaigning heavily for peace during WWI. He later retired with his wife in Ada, Ohio, dying in 1936.As ONU began to grow, so did its need for more energy. Since it was founded, ONU was powered and heated by a steam power plant, but this soon proved to be insufficient. In 1922, an annex was added to the rear of the building, housing a power plant with two gas generators to produce additional heat and electricity for the entire campus.During its history, Hill Memorial was host to almost all of ONU’s departments at one point or another. It was home to the College of Liberal Arts in 1929 and the College of Engineering in 1936 until it moved to the old Ada High School. Hill Memorial hosted the Biology department in 1953 until the Meyer Hall of Science was constructed. Hill is now the home of the History and Political Science departments as well as the Sociology and Psychology departments.

Standing front and center of the Ohio Northern University campus, the tower of Hill Memorial overlooks Ada’s Main Street. Originally called the Administration Building, the three-story building held several offices and classrooms that hosted most of the clubs on campus. In its early life, Hill Memorial had a history of catching on fire in that time fire trucks were still pulled by horses. The building caught on fire twice, in 1889 and 1913, the latter of which resulted in the loss of the third floor. After the second fire in 1913, the building was reconstructed and then dedicated to its namesake, Rev. John Wesley Hill.


Hill Memorial Building

Henry Solomon Lehr, born in Ohltown, Ohio on March 8th, 1838, founded Ohio Northern University in 1871. Lehr’s family consisted of 11 siblings, his father, George, and mother, Salome Lehr. Lehr, well-educated and bright, got introduced to schooling at the age of 12 and earned his teaching certificate at the age of 16. While getting his teaching certificate, he started teaching part-time while working as a farmer as well. He then began studying at Mount Union College in 1857. While studying there, he started to organize and collect information on how colleges should develop and organize courses. Lehr believed that colleges needed to work with the students’ schedules instead of the other way around. His studies, unfortunately, halted for a while due to the Civil War. After the war, Lehr moved to Ada, Ohio where his house was built at 310 South Main Street, just north of the Church of Christ Disciples. The green, wooden house was his first house constructed in Ada, Ohio. With his new ideas of how to organize a college, he began teaching these principles and opened Northwestern Ohio Normal School as a schoolmaster in 1871. Northwestern Ohio Normal School taught students how to teach the way Lehr thought was correct when learning in a classroom. Mr. Lehr led as president of Ohio Northern University from 1871 to 1900. He initially opened the university for students to study professional education, programs for creating education, engineering, pharmacy, and law. Today, many more programs and degrees are offered. With this new university established, costs were kept to a minimum in hopes to increase affordability for applicants. After many years, Lehr stepped down from the president of Ohio Northern University and Dr. Leroy Belt stepped in as lead successor. Lehr still served the university and had many administrative roles. But, after 1903 Lehr left Ohio Northern University because of differences with Dr. Belt and re-located to Winona, Indiana. Belt then took over for two more years and resigned. Dr. Albert Edwin then came in as head schoolmaster. In 1905, Lehr came back to Ada, Ohio and lived in his second house by Stambaugh Hall on campus. He brought in a designer from Kenton, Ohio named E.L. Lambert. Lehr requested his house to be a two-story house with the newest advancements. The cost of the house ended up totaling $8,500. He moved into the new house when he moved back to Ada, Ohio in 1905. Lehr stayed in his second house until he died on January 28th, 1923. The house is still located next to Stambaugh Hall and is used as the Student Development Center as it is being preserved by the university as the founder’s home. Lehr is an important part of Ohio Northern University’s history. To commemorate Lehr on all of his accomplishments and establishment of the school, Lehr has two buildings dedicated in his memory as well as an honorable statue. The buildings that are named after Lehr and his family include the engineering building, James Lehr Kennedy, and Lehr Memorial Hall. Ohio Northern also honors Lehr with a statue of him that is located between the Dicke College of Business Administration and Hill Memorial. The statue of Lehr is facing the village of Ada and standing right at the forefront of the university. The sculpture was designed by Tad McKillop who lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan. On October 6, 2007, during homecoming weekend, students and staff celebrated the statue of Henry Solomon Lehr.

The statue of Henry Solomon Lehr stands between the Dicke College of Business Administration and Hill Memorial. The statue of Lehr commemorated the founding of ONU on October 6, 2007, during homecoming weekend. Lehr founded Ohio Northern University in 1871 with the former name of the institution, Northwestern Ohio Normal School. Lehr opened the school to provide structure in professors’ teaching. Lehr was president of the university from 1871 to 1900. Lehr stayed at ONU as an administrative assistant until 1903, he then left and moved to Winona, Indiana, because of conflicted with the lead successor. Lehr came back to the village where he established ONU in 1905 because of change in leadership and he later then passed away in 1923.

Lehr Statue 

Martin Luther King Jr., invited by the reverend at ONU at that time, Reverend James Udy, visited Ohio Northern University on January 11th, 1968. That day, classes let out early for the 50-minute speech given by Dr. King in the old Taft Gymnasium. An estimated 4,500 people listened to Dr. King’s impactful speech at ONU that day to see what he had to say. Around 2,500 students and staff listened to the speech in Taft Gymnasium and the overflow of attendees, about 2,000 people, listened to the audio in the Lehr Auditorium. The speech consisted of the problems relating to segregation and how everyone has an important role in creating equality throughout the country. The speech also included the day-to-day struggles for the freedom desired by many. During and after the speech, students and staff felt greatly influenced, recognizing the changes that needed to be made in regard to civil rights. The speech was one of the last he gave at a university or college. Three months later, Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. The influential speech given by MLK, empowered and changed the hearts of many at ONU. MLK made a tremendous impact on so many people in the 1950s and 1960s. The students and staff at ONU valued and remembered the inspirational words that came from Dr. King. The university appreciates the opportunity and time of Martin Luther because he displays hope for the future of the country. In remembrance of the impactful speech given at Ohio Northern, the school celebrates what he stands for and the appearance of Martin Luther King Jr. still to this day. The MLK statue stands six feet and three inches tall and weighs about 700 pounds. The statue of Dr. King displays him standing behind a podium, while giving his speech at the university. The statue, made out of cast in silicon bronze, constructed by Tad McKillop, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who also created the Lehr statue on the university’s campus. The statue took about a year to construct. Then, on April 17th, 2017, the statue presented itself during the 50th Anniversary of the speech, located between Taft Hall and the ONU Pettit College of Law. The statue’s location is significant because it is where MLK gave his speech in 1968. Video and audio of MLK’s speech can be found on Ohio Northern University’s website, along with interviews from attendees and staff members.

Martin Luther King Jr., an international figure, continues to be recognized by the statue displayed of him at the southeast corner by the old Taft Gymnasium and the College of Law Building. The statue stands 6 foot 3 inches tall and was created out of silicon bronze by the artist Tad McKillop. The statue was installed on April 17, 2017, for the 50th anniversary of King speaking at Ohio Northern University. King came to the university on January 11, 1968, and spoke about day-to-day struggles for freedom and human dignity. A packed crowd of 2,500 attended in the old Taft Gymnasium with another 2,000 listened to the audio at the Lehr Auditorium. 

Ada Ohio Walking Tour

Ada Pennsylvania Station and Railroad Park

Introduction

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Backstory and Context

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Additional Information