A History of Crane Township

This history of Crane Township and Cecil was taken from an article written by Francis Minck of Cecil for the 1970 Paulding County Sesquicentennial, and reprinted in the historical society’s newsletter ahead of Crane Township’s 2025 bicentennial.

The Wabash Canal was completed in 1843 and the Miami-Erie Canal was completed in 1845. The Toledo, Wabash & Western Railroad was completed in 1855. The Paulding-Cecil Railroad extended from Paulding to Cecil, and was a narrow gauge. The first train ran over this road in September 1880.

The heavy growth of timber in this area invited several kinds of manufacturing establishments; one was a furnace for smelting of iron ore. It was the Paulding Iron Company, Ltd. It was located in Section 25 on the canal south of Cecil. The furnace was built in 1864-65, burnt down in 1875 and rebuilt in 1876. Lake Superior region ore was used and was brought by ships to Toledo then brought up the canal by boat. The ore cost was $10 per ton. The furnace burned charcoal which was the hardwood of the territory and burned in kilns, several being just south of the Cecil Bridge. Its cost was 7-1/2 cents a bushel. Limestone was used as flux, which came from Section 17 in Defiance Township at $1.50 per perch at the furnace. They poured about 11 tons of gray iron in 24 hours. The finished product sold from $40 to $44 a ton.

The village of Cecil was laid out April 1, 1871 by M. N. Utley, who ran a store in Cecil. At this time, there were two stave mills and a steam sawmill.

After the county seat was moved from New Rochester, this village became the thriving center of business, with the two railroads, the Wabash and the Cincinnati Northern (which are now the N&W and the Penn Central). The Wabash ran eight passenger trains daily as it was the main route between Toledo and St. Louis; and the CN ran six passenger trains daily.

There were two hotels, two doctors, two blacksmith shops and two livery stables. There were also three barber shops, three general stores and a hardware and implement store, a tile mill and a grain, hay and seed business. There were also three churches and a very good school.

There were two telephone companies in Cecil. The Home Telephone Company and the Cecil Mutual. The telephone lines were on both sides of the road and many people had both phones so they could talk to their neighbors. The Home Telephone Company, built in 1904, was located upstairs over the hardware store until the building burned January 20, 1918. After this the Home Telephone Co. merged with the Cecil Mutual Co., which was located in the Montroy residence. They also had a millinery shop in their home.

The only other village in Crane Township, Knoxdale, was located four miles west of Cecil along the Wabash R.R. with a few houses, a general store and a depot.

Today, the remaining places of business in Cecil are: Denver’s Market, Hart’s Auto Parts, Cecil Grain Co. and the Lone Tower Station. There are also three churches and a Post Office. In the Township are located The General Portland Cement Co., the France Stone Co., and Schwerman Trucking Company. Farming still remains one of the principle means of livelihood in the Township.