Ohio City

The Village of Ohio City in Van Wert County, originally platted as Van Wert Junction in 1876, experienced a period of prosperity in the early 1900s, largely thanks to the three railroads that ran through the town, including the Cincinnati Northern (NYC), Erie, and the Cloverleaf (Toledo, St. Louis & Western, later NKP). The village was a vital point for transportation and commerce, exemplified by the station that served multiple lines. Ohio City's claim to fame, however, rests with John William Lambert, who in 1891, invented and built what is credited by many historians as the first practical gasoline-powered automobile in the United States. That same summer, Ohio City was the site of the first recorded automobile accident in the U.S. when Lambert's car struck a tree stump and hit a hitching post, firmly placing the small village in the annals of automotive history, a legacy celebrated annually with the "Lambert Days" festival.

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