Nicknamed "Dutchtown" for the many German families that settled there, New Washington was platted in 1833 by George Washington Meyers, who arrived in Cranberry Township in 1826. Austrian romantic poet Nicholas Lenau, author of "Faust" and "Don Juan," owned property there in the 1830s. The village incorporated in 1874 shortly after the arrival of the Mansfield, Coldwater & Lake Erie Railroad, became a pioneer in the commercial poultry hatchery industry, and initiated the shipment of baby chicks by rail in 1900. Its most enduring tradition has been the New Washington Band, which has entertained the community regularly since 1865 except for brief interruptions during World War I and periodic reorganizations. In the 1870s it played political rallies as a Democratic Party band, and from 1898 until World War I it maintained a regular concert schedule as a cornet band. In the 100-year period between 1898 and 1998, the band had only three directors: E.F. Ulmer, Luther Cook, and Kenneth Cummins.