Fostoria

History

Fostoria was created in 1854 with the merger of the communities of Rome and Risdon. The combination of both communities' Methodist churches, on land donated by Charles W. Foster, led to the merger. To show their appreciation for Mr. Foster's generosity, the new community was named Fostoria. Charles W. Foster's son, Charles, became one of Fostoria's most famous citizens—becoming the 35th governor of Ohio and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Benjamin Harrison. Although the boom in gas and glass is long over, railroads continue to be important to the community. More than 100 trains pass through Fostoria each day. The Fostoria Railroad Preservation Society, aided by a $815,760 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation, completed a train viewing park in 2013 to help capitalize on the thousands of railfans who visit yearly.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,434
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,241
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,077
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,076
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  962
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  952
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  856
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  856

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2024-03-18
  4 km WSW of Millbury, Ohio
• M 2.9 — 2023-12-09
  5 km W of Jackson Center, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2023-05-20
  3 km SSE of Walbridge, Ohio
• M 3.2 — 2020-08-21
  2 km SSE of Detroit Beach, Michigan
• M 2.5 — 2016-02-07
  6 km W of Put-in-Bay, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2012-09-07
  17 km ESE of Stony Point, Michigan