Located in southern Wood County, the village of New Baltimore was founded in 1860, with the first plat of twenty-nine acres recorded by B.L. Peters in 1873. It was officially incorporated on February 7, 1876, and its name was changed to North Baltimore in 1880. The town prospered because of the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873, from which it took its name, and the discovery of rich oil and gas deposits in 1886. Early settlers included Jacob Dirk, George Franks, Levi A. Tarr, and B.L. Peters. The village's population grew from 700 in 1880 to 2,857 in 1890. One of the first buildings, erected in 1860 at the northwest corner of Main and Broadway streets, served as a school and meeting hall. The area had once been known as the Great Black Swamp before developing into a thriving town. Earlier history in the area included General Hull's army marching along Rocky Ford Creek at the southeast edge of town in 1812 on the way to Detroit, and the establishment of Beeson Gristmill along Rocky Ford Creek north of East Broadway in 1834. Community firsts included the opening of the first post office in 1874 with Lincoln P. Hudson as postmaster; the founding of the first newspaper, The New Baltimore Enterprise, by B.L. and D.E. Peters in 1875; the election of B.L. Peters as first mayor in 1876; the dedication of Henry's Opera House at 129 North Main Street by Dr. A.G. Henry in 1884; the first oil well and first gas well in 1886; the organization of People's Bank in 1888, its closure in 1894, and its purchase by Hardy Banking Co. in 1896; the opening of Central Pressed Brick Co. in 1888, producing 8,000,000 bricks annually; the opening of Zihlman Glass Company in 1888, making 1,000 drinking glasses a day; the construction of City Hall at 205 North Main Street in 1890 at a cost of $5,925, later razed in May 1985; the founding of North Baltimore Electric Company at 115 West State Street by Dr. Henry in 1890-91; and the completion of the Toledo, Bowling Green and Southern Electric Interurban streetcar line in 1902, later abandoned in 1930.