Delta, claimed to be Fulton County’s first village, was incorporated in 1883 and the origin of its names varies. One story says Delta was named after the shape of nearby Bad Creek, since it looked like the Greek letter of the same name. Others say Delta means fertile valley. Delta always wasn’t called that and in earlier years the village had many names, including Tadmore, Tadpole, Greensprings, Fingerville, and Toughmatch. The Delta area also was known as the Six Mile Woods, which consisted of an area six miles wide and 20 miles long containing huge oak, walnut and sycamore trees up to four feet in diameter.
Some of these trees still exist in nearby Goll Woods, one of the least disturbed woodland known to remain in extreme northwestern Ohio. Totaling 321 acres, this state nature preserve exemplifies the Black Swamp forest which once covered a vast area of the flat post-glacial lake plains southwest of Lake Erie. Still in existence are 200-400 year old oak trees and excellent spring wildflowers.
Early settlers to the Six Mile Woods area included the King family who established a farm there. William King, whose brother owned the farm, brought his 15 slaves from Louisiana where he lived to Ohio, so that they could be free. The group made it all the way to Cincinnati before a pucket boat on the canal refused to let the slaves board. King had to complete the trip with his slaves on a barge. On this barge he preached to his first mixed congregation, receiving a $1,000 fine for such an act.
At the King farm, the slaves were taught reading and writing, as well as northern farming methods and food preservation. They also were paid for their labor for the first time in their lives. The slaves and their families were later moved to Canada where the Buxton Settlement was established in 1849. A year later there were 45 families raising crops and by the fifth year, the Buxton Settlement was an economic success. The King farm was also the area’s Underground Railway station on the overland route to the woods that bordered the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair across from Canada West. Today, all that is left of the farm is King Cemetery just outside of Delta on State Hwy 109.
One of the first major construction projects in Delta was the Plank Road, which ran from Delta to Wapakoneta, where the nearest government office was located to record and purchase land. After logs were used to make the planks at the local sawmill, these planks were laid in a row, fastened together, and then covered with gravel or dirt. There was even a toll gate where the current Toledo Airport starts, where a historical marker was later placed.
Near the end of the 19^th century, a major catastrophe almost burned the entire town to the ground. The Great Fire of 1892 began in a local livery, which quickly spread to the nearby hotel and the Masonic Hall. Dispatches had to be sent to Wauseon and Toledo to supply fire engines. It took all day before the fire was controlled. Around 15 buildings were lost.
In later years, other fires destroyed important buildings and documents. In 1949, most of The Delta Public Library’s collection was lost in the fire at Memorial Hall. The original 1911 collection of books was organized in 1925 under Ohio State law and thus became eligible for state funding. The lost collection was reestablished with the public’s support and today the library has a collection of 50,000 items which are housed in a former bank building that was recently expanded.
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