Some things change and some things stay the same. The population of Fort Jennings has hovered around 500 for several years. The size of the town more than doubled in April of 2007 when the high school student council held the convention of the Student Councils of Ohio in Fort Jennings. Young people from all over Ohio were welcomed into the homes of residents and a big convention was held in the school. This gave many big city kids the opportunity to experience life in a small northwestern Ohio community, which is a town without even a traffic light. The students loved every bit of it.
Fort Jennings was always an ecumenical community. In the beginning the Lutheran and Catholics used the same building for worship. The Catholics used the little log cabin in the morning and the Lutherans held their services there in the afternoon. At graduation exercises, Father Miller always gave the invocation and Rev. Spithaler gave the benediction. Rev. Spithaler also drove a school bus. The Lutherans were among the first German settlers to settle Fort Jennings. The Raabe and Discher families arrived even before the Boehmer, VonDerEmbse and Wellman families did. The Lutheran church was established in 1840.
In 1855, they erected a church on Water Street at the cost of $2,000. Their next church was built in 1903-04 on the corner of 4th and Main streets. This beautiful building was demolished in 1989 because of the dwindling number of parishioners. Their membership in 1903 was 250. After the church was torn down some members joined with Continental and some went to Delphos.
The stained glass windows went to Elk River, Minn. and some of the furnishings went to Zurich, Ill.
In the early days, the Lutherans lost two ministers in untimely deaths. Rev. Keniston died in 1855 from cholera and Rev. Furham drowned in the canal lock on his way from one service to the next.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was organized in 1832 by Father Horstmann of Glandorf and it consisted of four families. It was also a mission of Delphos and Ottoville at one time. By 1852, the parish raised enough money to built a new church on Water Street on lots donated by H.J. Boehmer. The church was 40 x 60. In 1884, they built the beautiful brick church, 132 x 55. It stood until recently where the present church now stands. By 1916, the parish had 700 members (163 families). Many tears were shed when that church was demolished. For several months the parishioners doubled up with Ottoville.
The beautiful new St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was blessed and opened in 2005. Eight of the beautiful stained glass windows from the old church were used in the new one. Two are behind the altar and three are on each side.
At one time, the Catholic parish had a pastor with a very unusual hobby of pyrotechnics. The fireworks he produced were used at many celebrations. Upon his death, he requested that his directions and equipment be thrown into the river to prevent danger to anyone.
In 1949, Father Miller, the St. Joe pastor dreamed of a school for migrant children, while their parents were working in the fields. In became a reality in 1961 and was the first federally funded summer migrant program in the nation. The classes were actually taught there from 1958 through 1978.
The Jennings school district was made up of four country schools until they were consolidated in 1931. Two school buses were purchased at that time. St. Joseph’s Elementary first operated as a parochial school, then as a public school, with the Sisters of St. Francis staffing the school.
For many years, the district had a three-year high school. If a student wanted the fourth year, they attended Delphos Jefferson to complete their studies. The new high school opened in 1939. Basketball was also introduced at that time.
Sports and music have always been a special part of the school and community, as it is in most of our area. In 2000, the basketball team was the Ohio State Championship. At that time it was the sixth smallest school in Ohio. Baseball, softball, soccer, track and field and volleyball have also been important activities. The music department is a very important part of the school, with a very high percentage of the students belonging to band or choir. The high school band marched in the Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago and at Disney World. The school is rated very high academically by the state of Ohio.
A new high school and elementary school was built and combined in one beautiful campus in a new location in 2004. The old high school gym and the music room were left standing and put to good use. The old music room became the home of the Fort Jennings Branch of the Putnam County Library.
When the terrible flood hit Ottawa in August of 2007, the genealogy and local history department of the Putnam County Library was also moved to the Fort Jennings Branch. The main library suffered so much damage that its future lies in limbo. Over 90 percent of the records in the genealogy and local history departments were saved, thanks to some fast thinking by several individuals, who moved these items to a safe place.
The Memorial Hall played an important part in the lives of the Fort Jennings residents for many years. It was the place to go for wedding receptions and dances, until the American Legion Hall was built. The Memorial Hall was completed in 1917 at a cost of $15,000. The village officials and the township trustees held meetings in the hall over the years. It was also the location of 4-H meetings and the children always went to the Memorial Hall to meet Santa Claus, when he arrived in town. It was also the home of the Branch Library from 1986 to May, 2007.
The community is justly proud of their park, located between S.R. 189 and the Auglaize River. A foot bridge built by Pete Vetter connects the park with the rest of the community on the other side of the river. The 14-acre site of the park was once the town and township refuse dump. In 1967, the township transferred its share to the village and an adjacent 7.45 acres were purchased by the village from the American Legion. During 1968, the open dump was closed and covered with three feet of topsoil. Annual park festivals were initiated in 1969 to raise the local share of the funding.
The park carnival continues to be a big event. The annual lawn mower races brought in a huge crowd last year. For several years visitors came from all over to visit “Christmas in the Park.” What was once an unsightly dump was transformed into a beautiful park with baseball and softball diamonds, tennis courts, soccer field playground and picnic facilities. The Recreation Club built a new clubhouse in the park.
In 2001, the town celebrated their history with a visit by relatives of Col. William Jennings, the commanding officer of the Fort, which served the United States during the War of 1812. The visitors, William and Mary Williamson were greeted with a reception at the high school and dinner at the Old Fort. Williamson was a professor at a college in Minnesota when he came across a picture of Col. Jennings. He called the Mayor, who contacted Regina Schimmoeller, a member of the historical group, and they got the ball rolling for the reception and celebration.
Another big change occurred when the former elementary school was transformed into Fort Haven. The classrooms were changed into lovely apartments for Senior Living.
Much more can be told of the towns history. You might like to visit the local history room in the Branch Library.