Side A: Here in the Oak Openings Region of northwest Ohio, some of the last Ottawa villages in Ohio lined the banks of Swan Creek during the 1830s. These Native Americans were led by Chief Ottokee (Autokee), a descendant of Pontiac, and half brother to another Ottawa Chief named Wauseon. Known for being honest and friendly, Ottokee was the last Ottawa chief in the Maumee Valley, for years refusing to go when the last of his people were removed to lands west of the Mississippi River.
Side B: In 1835 a road opened from Maumee to the Indiana State line, running through this area. Swanton emerged here, near the Ottawa village, as a frontier town with several shops and hotels for pioneers heading west. To the east, a tollbooth and junction from Toledo known as the Chicago Pike opened. With the arrival of the railroad, ‘Old Swanton’ was outstripped and moved to its present location. The Swanton Township Hall was originally a schoolhouse, built in 1909 and served as such until 1938.
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.