Continental

How Continental began

Continental, in Monroe Township, began as Marice City when it was platted in March 1888 for Gen. A. V. Rice and named for his daughter Mary; it incorporated that year and was officially renamed Continental by the county court in April 1899. Its population has held fairly steady since, peaking at 1,185 in 1970. No further detail on its founders, early industries, or railroad connections was located in the sources checked.

Platted 1888-03-23 (as Marice City), incorporated 1888-03-22, by George Skinner, surveyor, for Gen. A. V. Rice.

Where the name comes from

Platted on March 23, 1888 by the surveyor George Skinner for Gen. A. V. Rice, and named Marice City in honor of the General's daughter, Mary Rice (Wikipedia's spelling "Maurice City" is an apparent corruption of Marice). Several citizens pushed to rename it Continental at the time of incorporation, but the change was not made official until April 17, 1899, at the February term of court.

Before the town

No Native American site or village specific to Continental or Monroe Township was located in the sources checked.

Timeline

1. 1849 — Adam Perrin becomes the first permanent settler of what is later Monroe Township; he has the township to himself for two years until John Grant arrives in 1851.
2. 1852-04-05 — Monroe Township, cut from Perry Township in 1852, holds its first election; twelve votes are cast and William Moore and John and Eli Fickle are chosen trustees.
3. 1865 — Rice road improvements are built through what was then unbroken swamp and wilderness in southeastern Monroe Township, later the site of the village.
4. 1883 — Wisterman, a hamlet west of the future Continental, is platted by E. W. Dimock for W. S. Daly, E. R. Eastman and Jane James; it never grows beyond a railroad stop.
5. 1887 — James Bell builds a store room and opens a general store, and D. W. Seitz lays out an addition for Gen. A. V. Rice, the year before Marice City is platted.
6. 1888 — The Buckeye Stave Company erects a stave factory on its own addition to the town, laid out the same year.
7. 1888-03-22 — The town incorporates, with Polk Berbage as its first mayor; several citizens immediately push, unsuccessfully, to rename it Continental.
8. 1888-03-23 — George Skinner surveys and plats the village for Gen. A. V. Rice as Marice City, named for Rice's daughter Mary Rice.
9. 1890 — The first census after incorporation records 895 residents.
10. 1895 — The Methodist Episcopal congregation of Continental is organized and builds a frame church costing $3,000.
11. 1896-08-02 — Rev. Frank C. Longaker organizes the Continental Lutheran church with eighteen members; its brick church, costing $2,600, is completed in November 1897.
12. 1899-04-17 — At the February term of court, the name is officially changed from Marice City to Continental.
13. 1910 — The village census is 1,074, against 1,104 in 1900 (the 1915 county history calls it more than a thousand).
14. 1970 — Continental's population peaks at 1,185.

Stories

A Town Named for a General's Daughter

Where Continental now stands was, until the mid-1860s, one vast body of unbroken swamp and wilderness in the southeastern corner of Monroe Township. Road improvements built in 1865 under Gen. A. V. Rice's direction made the land productive, and when two railroads later crossed there, the site became a promising location for a town. In March 1888 the surveyor George Skinner platted it for Rice, who named it Marice City in honor of his daughter, Mary Rice. The Buckeye Stave Company put up a factory the same year, James Sullivan opened the first store, and the town incorporated within days of the survey, on March 22, 1888, with Polk Berbage as its first mayor. Some citizens wanted the name changed to Continental from the very start, but it took eleven years -- until April 17, 1899 -- for a court to make the change official. By the time the county's history was written in 1915, Continental had grown past a thousand residents, with an elevator and milling company, two banks, a hotel and a grocery, its origins as a general's tribute to his daughter mostly forgotten.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Continental Village100% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Public schools (2)

Public libraries (1)

Police stations (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2019: 9 of 9 passed.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

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