NORWALK
pg. 183
Norwalk, the county seat of Huron county, takes its name
from Huron, Connecticut. The inhabitants of that town
having suffered great loss by the British, burning and
destroying property in that town, in the Revolutionary war,
were in part compensated for their loss by lands in Ohio,
called the Firelands, and organized as Huron county in 1818,
containing half a million of acres. Their loss was
estimated at eighty-six thousand, two hundred and ninety-six
dollars.
Norwalk is a beautiful city, fifty-six miles west of
Cleveland, about ninety-five miles north of Columbus, and
fifty-seven miles east of Toledo. One of the chief
attractions of Norwalk is its principal avenue, Main street,
which is two miles in length and is beautifully shaded by
rows of maple trees. The center is the business
portion, with court house, school buildings and churches.
Much taste is evinced in the private residences and
churches, and in adorning the ground around them with
shrubbery and flowers. As a whole the city is one of
the most beautiful and attractive in Ohio.
The town is often called “Maple City,” on account of
the beautiful maple trees that line the streets. The
town is an important station on the Michigan Southern and
the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroads. It also has a
number of electric railroads as given elsewhere.
Page 184 -
Platt Benedict was the founder of the town.
He was from Danbury, Connecticut. His death occurred
Oct. 25, 1866, at the age of ninety-one years, seven months
and seven days. He was four years old when the British
red-coats came to his native town to do mischief, having
burned Norwalk, Connecticut on their way. Perhaps it
was this incident that indirectly paved the way to his
founding an Ohio Norwalk. When he came out here in
1817, he was seven weeks on the journey coming out, with his
family and household goods, the latter stowed away in a
wagon drawn by oxen.
About a mile west of the village were some ancient
fortifications. The town is surrounded by rich farming
lands, has a fine commercial trade, and considerable
manufacturing interests.
The site of Norwalk was first visited with a view to
founding a town, by Hon. Elisha Whittlesey,
Platt Benedict, and one or two others, in
October, 1815. The place was then in the wilderness,
and there were but a few settlers in the county. The
examination being satisfactory, the town plat was laid out
in the spring following, by Almon Ruggles, and
lots offered for sale at from sixty to one hundred dollars
each. In the fall of 1817, Platt Benedict
built a log house with the intention of removing his family
there, but in his absence, it was destroyed by fire.
He reconstructed his dwelling shortly afterwards, and thus
the founding of the village was commenced. In the May
following Norwalk was made the county seat, and the public
buildings subsequently erected. The year after a
census was taken and the population had reached one hundred
and nine. In the first few years of the settlement
church organizations were formed, the Methodist being the
first, a class being formed in 1820. In 1821,
the Episcopal church was instituted. From that
time to the present the town has grown with the progressive
increase of the county.
As Norwalk is so thoroughly sketched in the Centennial
write-up, further notice here is unnecessary.
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