ABOUT US
About Findlay-Hancock County
Findlay is located in Hancock County and serves as the county seat as well. Hancock County owes much of its present-day success to the strong community spirit that has been passed on from one generation to the next. Citizens are dedicated to preserving the area’s unique heritage while fostering its continued prosperity. An appreciation of the past is one way to ensure a solid future. Findlay and Hancock County benefit from the work accomplished by its forefathers. The number of century-old businesses demonstrates the vitality that characterizes the past, present and future of the area.
About Flag City USA
The earliest known settler of Hancock County was a Frenchman by the name of Jean Jacques Blanchard, who came to Hancock County in 1796 and settled with the Shawnee Tribe of Native Americans. In 1812, Col. James Findlay, opened a road to the Blanchard River and built a stockade moving the Ohio Frontier Army from Dayton to Detroit. The stockade was named Fort Findlay and stood just west of where the Main Street bridge crosses the Blanchard River. In 1820 the city of Findlay was named and recognized.
The town of Findlay boomed with the discovery of natural gas in the 19th century. During the gas jubilee of 1887, 30,000 flames burned for three days and nights. A banner announcing "Women Split No Wood" was one of the first banners on the original gas arches that lined Main Street in Findlay during the 1887.
During the 1960s, the Findlay community began celebrating June 14, Flag Day, by decorating virtually every home and business in the city with more than 14,000 U.S. flags. This inspiring display led to a congressional declaration in 1974, when Findlay was officially christened "Flag City U.S.A."
History of Hancock County Courthouse
Construction of the courthouse began on April 1, 1885 by W.H. Campfield and his employees. Sandstone quarried from the Findlay area was used in the structure to make the building as fireproof as possible.
The courthouse was officially dedicated to the citizens of Hancock County on October 27, 1888, with John Hancock taking his proper place the following day. Architects Frank Weary and George Washington Kramer designed the building itself.
Just below John Hancock are the statues of Law, Mercy and Justice, reminding us of America's connection with Greek democracy. Four polished granite pillars, reminiscent of Greek ionic columns, guard the old entrance of the courthouse, which was designed to resemble the triumphant arch in Paris. They are a tribute to the generosity of Findlay's citizens, for they were anonymously donated to the cause of justice.
The stain glass window is one of the few places where the original State Seal can be found. Bringing us to Ohio's early years of statehood, the original State Motto, "Imperium in Imperio," which means "an empire within an empire," shines in the sunlight.
On the second floor, in Courtroom No. 1, there is a mural of Justice sitting on her Roman throne, one of three in the world that portray her without the blindfold.
The fourth floor is home to the bell, clock and finally, John Hancock.
History of "Down by the Old Millstream"
Life of composer William "Tell" Taylor
William “Tell” Taylor was born on a farm near Vanlue in 1876. Tell attended classes at Findlay College where he studied music and decided to move to the excitement that was New York City in 1890s.
He began a career as a traveling salesman, singing in stores to sell sheet music and began acting and writing music, which proved to be fairly popular. It wasn’t long before Tell began writing and selling his own music then decided to start his own publishing company.
After a scuffle in New York with buglers, Tell returned to Findlay for a brief visit before he headed for Chicago to start another publishing company and continue his acting career.
On his trip to Findlay in 1908, Tell decided to go fishing along the Blanchard River, as he often did. He began to think about his childhood and the romantic dreamer in him took over. He thought of the girl he once loved and of an old mill that thrived in his youth. He went home and penned the words to "Down by the Old Millstream".
For several years that song would lay in drawer all but forgotten. Published two years later in 1910, it became his most popular song selling over 4 million copies. It later became written in the following way:
Down by the Old Mill Stream,
where I first met you,
with your eyes of blue,
dressed in gingham too,
It was there I knew,
that you loved me true,
You were sixteen,
my village queen,
by the old mill stream,
Down by the stream.
Music by Tell Taylor --1910
For the remainder of his life would travel between Findlay and Chicago but purchased an old farm in Findlay located on East Sandusky Street. He converted some of the property into Findlay’s first golf course and later sold much of the land to the Hancock County Agricultural Society where it was turned into the Old Mill Stream Fairgrounds. Tell’s house and barn still stands but the greater part of the land is now the Hancock County Fairgrounds.
Tell died on November 24, 1937. In dedication to the memory of, a fitting memorial has been erected just south of the north entrance of Riverside Park on McManness Avenue.
You can access more information on Tell Taylor by visiting this website, http://www.findlaylibrary.org/telltaylor.html.