University of Toledo - Blockhouse Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

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General View, Toledo, Ohio Toledo, Ohio ULEDO stands on historic ground. Ac- cording to Nevin O. Winter, local histor- ian, the shadowy claim of Spain was followed by the actual sovereignty of France over the sofcalled New France, which lasted until 1763, the year of Pontiac's conspiracy. That famous Indian chief camped many times on the shores of the Maumee where great industrial plants and railroad terminals are now located. The British occupancy lasted, with a brief interval after Wayne's victory at Fallen Timf bers, until the decisive defeat at Fort Meigs in 1813. Toledo had a humble beginning and when compared with the city for which it was named, the majestic old walled city with its memories of the conquering Moors, it is still in its infancy. There are those still living who paddled canoes and skated on the sites of towering skyscrapers and caught frogs in stagnant pools where great institutions and busy stores now serve the people. This is typical of the startling newness of these great cities of America. The site upon which Toledo now stands has been known by several names. Upon the wall of a building on the northeast corner of Monroe and Summit streets is an inscription reading, This building stands upon the site of Fort Industry, a stockade erected by General Anthony Wayne in 1794. Later in 1817 two rival towns, Port Lawrence and Vistula, were platted. The first building in Port Lawrence, a two-story log warehouse, was erected at the mouth of the Swan Creek about 1820. Its completion was the occasion for cele- bration among the pioneers. By 1823, two log ware' houses and a few small huts clustered about Summit and Monroe streets, the site of old Fort Industry. Near Cherry and Summit streets dwelt Major Benjamin Franklin Stickney, who became dissatisfied with Port Lawrence and laid out the rival town of Vistula, which began at Orange street and extended down the river several blocks. At a public meeting of Port Lawrence and Vistula citizens in 1833 it was agreed to unite the two settlements under a new name. Several persons have been credited with being the first to propose the name Toledo, but the generally ac' cepted story is that the name was suggested by Willard j. Daniels, a merchant of Vistula. He had been read- ing Spanish history and suggested the name Toledo, the same as that of the ancient capitol of Spain, using the argument that the word was easily pronounced, was pleasant in sound, and that there was no place of that name on the western continent. His suggestion was accepted and, in 1837, the city was incorporated under this name. john H. Doyle in his book, A Story Qf Early Toledo, gives james Irvin Brown, a newspaper editor, the credit for suggesting the name. In 1833 Jessup W. Scott arrived at Perrysburg and began publishing the Miami ofthe Lake, the first newsf paper of the Maumee Valley. Soon afterwards he moved to Toledo where he became a prominent busi- ness leader. With wise foresight he purchased seventy acres of land just west of the business center at 3912.00 an acre, which is now worth millions. When he died, he left a quarter of a section of land and some money to establish the Toledo University of Arts and Trades. From this small endowment has developed our great municipal university. One century later, Toledo, with a population of 300,000, is a city of many public buildings and parks, institutions of all kinds, fully equipped hospitals, and is an industrial center. Its schools rank with the best when compared with-those in other cities of its size. lt has one of the largest museums and one of the most complete zoos in the country. In size it is the third largest railroad center, and as a shipping port, it has a natural harbor which assures its importance as a future world port upon the completion of the St. Lawrence Waterway. Today, we point to our Toledo with pride in its past and assurance for its future.

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General View Toledo, Spain Toledo, Spain N old tradition says, When God created the earth He placed it under Toledo, of which Adam was the first king. Indeed, Toledo is quite ancient, History and legend ascribe its foundation to various sources. Some authors give Hercules as the founder, while others mention Tubal, the grandson of Noah. Others cite the jews, who exiled by Nebuchadnezzar, settled here and named the city Toledoth, meaning the City ofCeneration. These legends are all confusing. However. we have reason to believe that Toledo was founded before the birth of Christ, as according to some historians it was a stronghold of the Carpetani and possibly a commercial center of the Carthaginians. Livy mentions that Toledo was conquered by the Romans in 193 B. C. As the writer Caldos says: The history of Toledo is in itself the history of Spain. lt involves the history of Spain under the Visigothsg four centuries of Moorish domination in the center of the Peninsula: the old kingdom of Castile and Leon, the vast mon- archy founded by the Catholic kings- Ferdinand and lsabellagf- and finally, that great XVI Century, which is truly the Spanish Century. Toledo absorbed much of the culture of the Arabs and the jews. lt witnessed the best period of the Moorish domination and the great undertakings of the reconquest, first seeing the development and corrup- tion of the empire of the Visigoths. In addition, almost all of the Castilian kings resided in Toledo. Later the masses and nobility jointly controlled, as formerly had the clergy and kings, the politics and religion of Spain. The marvelous events which have been the basis of traditions and many fabulous tales, passed on from mouth to mouth for a hundred generations, aroused the imagination, giving rise to a special literature of the original and popular type, a forerunner of the Romantic period in which Spanish poets and writers of universal fame excelled. Toledo was the battle ground of the many political and religious struggles ending in the victory of Spanish Catholicism over Arianism. At first its rulers pro- tected the large jewish colony, founded extensive silk and woolen industries, and made the city an important center of Arab and Hebrew culture. For a time the Castilians emulated the tolerance of the Moors. but the llews were expelled in 1402, and later the Arabic language also was forbidden in Toledo, except in church services. ln fact. in the Mozarabic Chapel, mass and other olifices are still performed daily according to the Arabic liturgy. Toledo, formerly the capital of Spain and the seat of a university, still is an important educational center, having numerous elementary schools, a military academy and a provincial institute. Here also is located the provincial court ofjustice, as well as several modern hospitals. Its characteristic industry is the manufacture of swords. Toledo Blades have been famous for 2,000 years, having been mentioned in records of the first century before Christ. The dam' ascene work is also very famous and typical of Toledo. Toledo has a very unusual but picturesque location. The City is built on an elevation of granite, bathed on all sides except the north by the famous river Tagus, the northern part of the city being protected by a double wall. From a distance it has the appearance of a great fortress defended by the river Tagus and walls, dominated by the towers of its cathedral and Alcazar. A traveller arriving at the impressive railroad station of Toledo only sees a steep cliff at the left and in the foreground some rather poor looking houses, and the cupola of the Hospital of Tavera. However, following the road, the awefinspiring perspective of the Bridge of Alcantara presents itself. The Alcazar stands out like an eagle's nest at the top of a cliff. Off to the right, the towers of the Bisagra Cate form, with the turrets of an old parochial church, the most picturesque group. Opposite one sees the ruins of the Castle of San Servando, and in the foregroug-l a confused conglomeration of buildings, ancient and modern, built one on top of the other on the slope of the cliff. . . . And thus ends this brief story of ancient Toledo, which today has approximately 26,500 inf habitants. The account of this wondrous city, filled with relics of the past. arouses a curious desire to pene- trate its secrets, both pleasant and sorrowful, and those fabulous legends of which it was the scene.

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University of Toledo, Spain OLEDO was the seat of' a university for four hundred years. Later the faculty of this university was absorbed by that of the University of Madrid. The building, then a university, is tfrday occupied by an important State institute, ,,,,.......-.0-JP'