Van Wert, Ohio

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Van Wert is the seat of Van Wert County, Ohio. It was founded in 1834 by Capt. James Riley and named after Revolutionary War hero Isaac Van Wert. The town was settled by the Welsh, German and Irish.
The Van Wert County Courthouse was designed by Thomas J. Tolan of Toledo, later of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the Second Empire Style. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Tolan and his son, Brentwood S., designed many courthouses in Ohio and Indiana. Brentwood S. Tolan designed the magnificent Allen County Courthouse in Fort Wayne.

Brumback Library, the first county library in the United States