page_title: Norwood, Ohio
section_title: Village of Norwood
hierarchical_section_title: Norwood, Ohio / History / Village of Norwood
caption_attribution_description: English: The first Town Hall in Norwood, Ohio was built in 1882, prior to the incorporation of Norwood as a village. It later served as the first City Hall until it was replaced by the current Norwood Municipal Building in 1916. It was located at the southwest corner of Montgomery Road and Elm Avenue at the same location as the current Norwood City Hall (Norwood Municipal Building).
context_page_description: Norwood is the second most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and an enclave of the larger city of Cincinnati. The population was 19,207 at the 2010 census. Originally settled as an early suburb of Cincinnati in the wooded countryside north of the city, the area is characterized by older homes and tree-lined streets.
context_section_description: The 1880s in Norwood were marked by the development of several new subdivisions and significant municipal improvements throughout the village. Starting in 1881, L. C. Hopkins's platted his East Norwood subdivision on 46-acres of land between Harris Avenue and Highland Avenue (much of this neighborhood was eliminated in the early-1960s with the construction of the Norwood Lateral). It is likely that the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern railroad influenced Hopkins to build here as the neighborhood surrounded the newly laid tracks.
  The first Norwood Town Hall was constructed in 1882 on donated land on the southwest corner of Montgomery Road and Elm Avenue by elected officials of the Norwood Town Hall Association. The hall was constructed at the demand of local residents who wanted a village center for church services, business activities, dances, plays, and other community functions. The Norwood Town Hall Association was instrumental in leading the effort to incorporate Norwood as a village in later years.
  In 1885, development started on the South Norwood subdivision. The first houses were located around Ashland Avenue, which later became known as the "Presidential Neighborhood" because the cross streets were named after the first five United States presidents.
  A four-room Central School schoolhouse was erected in 1887 on Montgomery Road (where LaRosa's Pizza now sits) to meet the education demands of the rapidly growing village. A one-room school house for Columbia Township had existed at this location possibly as early as 1828. Just one year after construction, the 1887 school house was expanded to eight rooms, as the number of students enrolled had already doubled. The estimated population of the South Norwood, East Norwood and "old" Norwood subdivisions in 1887 was 3,000.
  In late 1887, residents of East Norwood raise money to install 18 gas street lamps in their subdivision, making East Norwood the first lighted neighborhood in the village.
  Norwood's first fire brigade was organized in South Norwood in January 1888. Only six days later, the brigade was called into action to fight a gasoline fire in the basement of the home of Robert Leslie, which was the first house built on Floral Avenue. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze using buckets of water and save Mr. Leslie's home. The house still stands today at 4243 Floral Avenue.
  As the village continued to grow, the ambitious leaders of the Town Hall Association knew the only way to sustain continued civic improvements was to incorporate as a village. One of the main incentives for incorporation was to provide public street lighting. The leaders started proceedings in early-1888 and on May 14, 1888, the Village of Norwood was formally incorporated by approval of the County Commissioners of Hamilton County. The signers of the petition were almost the entire male adult population of a total census of 1,000. Three months later, the first municipal elections were held and Dr. John C. Weyer was elected the village's first mayor.
  Norwood continued to expand the boundaries of the village in 1889 by annexing land bordering the original subdivisions. The same year, work was started on a new subdivision called Elsmere, between Williams Avenue and Hudson Avenue. In 1891, Norwood Council annexed Elsmere as part of the village. These two annexations were the first of thirteen conducted by Norwood between 1889 and 1981.
caption: Norwood's first Town Hall was built in 1882 at the southwest corner of Montgomery Road and Elm Avenue before Norwood was incorporated as a village. It was later used as Norwood's first City Hall after Norwood became a city in 1902 and eventually was replaced by the current City Hall, the Norwood Municipal Building on the same site in 1916.
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