In 1871, William H. Gibson learned that a railroad was being built and that a depot was promised at almost every road crossing, prompting him to buy a ninety acre tract that would be crossed by the line; this land soon became Gibsonburg. T. D. Stevenson and J. F. Yeasting helped Gibson survey forty acres into town lots, and the village was incorporated under Ohio law in the spring of 1880. In 1887, council member A. P. Johnson, seeing opportunity from the oil fields in Wood County, encouraged hopes for oil near town; the first well proved to be a gas well, and Gibsonburg grew as oil derricks appeared. Lime manufacturing also became one of the community's first and chief industries, beginning with a pot kiln operated by D. P. Salem, while Gibson himself was involved in limestone quarrying and built a patent draw kiln to process lime used for steel, glass, drywall, and agriculture. The town continued to profit from its quarries, including the former Ohio and Western Lime Company quarry that became Williams Park. Nearly sixteen acres were bought in 1914 for $2,200.00 and first called Twin Lakes because of two water-filled stone quarries on the property. One quarry became a popular swimming hole and site of water festivals with boat races and other events, while the other was used as a junkyard before being filled and covered with soil. At the east end stood an unsightly pile of waste lime, and the Williams family, who lived across the street, worked to beautify the quarry and surrounding land by cutting weeds, planting trees carried from the Union Cemetery wood lot, watering seedlings, and encouraging iris donations from residents. In the early 1940's, after ten years of effort, Ernest and Inez Williams and their family were recognized when the area was dedicated as Williams Park.