Stryker Area Heritage Council

The Stryker Area Heritage Council

The Stryker Area Heritage Council was formed to record and preserve the rich history of the Stryker area. Located in the very northwestern corner of Ohio, Stryker, Evansport and Lockport have all had interesting histories surrounding their development. Some of the early growth was due to their location along the Tiffin River.

Stryker has had a significant part in the development and operation of several railroad lines. From 1905 to 1939, Stryker was the home to the car storage, maintenance facility, and electric generating station for the Toledo & Indiana (T & I) interurban electric train line.

For more than 50 years, long pans of water were placed in the track for some of the steam locomotives going through the town. It saved trains a stop if they could pickup water to replenish their boilers along the way. During the winter, men were hired to break up the ice in the pans so the trains could continue to scoop up the precious liquid as they made their way along the route.

Several people of significance have come from the area. William J. Knight was among the first group of men honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his part in the great train robbery during the Civil War. Harry Wickey was a famous illustrator, sculptor and author. Ralph Goll was a writer on the famous Lone Ranger radio series and had several of his episodes turned into TV shows. Sam Hornish, the winner of the 2006 Indianapolis 500, lived in Stryker when he was a young boy.

We hope you find this website of interest and if you have questions or would like to join the group in collecting and preserving this rich history of the Stryker area, please contact us at the Stryker Area Heritage Council.
 

Heritage Council signs lease for Stryker depot

An historic step was taken August 14 when representatives of the Stryker
Area Heritage Council and the Village of Stryker executed a lease agreement.
The action will allow the SAHC to develop and operate a museum in Stryker's
historic railroad passenger depot. The council has some work to do to prepare for the request of items for the museum. Click here for more on the story.

Interested in being a SAHC Trustee?

Three trustees will be elected at the up-coming SAHC annual General Meeting on November 25. If you are interesting in serving as a trustee, click here to get an application.

SAHC program featured the plight of Native Americans

Noted area educator and historian Randy Buchman, recently wrote the book “A Sorrowful Journey,” and shared the painful story of the forced removal of northwest Ohio’s Native Americans during a special October 23 presentation sponsored by the Stryker Area Heritage Council at the Stryker United Methodist Church, 301 Cherry Street in Stryker. For more information, click here.

Replicas of 1922 High School very popular

The Stryker Area Heritage Council’s replica of the 1922 Stryker High School has proven so popular that a second order of the wooden collectibles is now on its way. The SAHC has sold nearly all of the 100 numbered limited edition wooden replicas of the historic high school building, scheduled for demolition this year. 

The replicas are priced at $15 each for SAHC members and $17 for non-members. The club hopes to have a new supply in time to put on sale at the SAHC Annual General Membership Meeting on November 25 at the Stryker American Legion. Interested individuals may also contact Sue Buehrer if they would like to buy one. For more on this story, click here.
 

Agricultural brochure tells history of farming in area
A new brochure featuring the heritage of farming has been produced. SAHC Trustee Kevin Maynard has written a new brochure about the heritage of farming and the  agricultural practices used through the early years of the area. To see it, click here.