Helena

How Helena began

Helena was laid out in September 1871, its first lots surveyed by Joseph Garn as the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad's Toledo branch reached the site, and was named for Helena Thompson, the daughter of a local doctor. The 1882 county history says the village straddles the line between Washington and Jackson townships; Wikipedia places it in Sandusky Township. The census counted 111 residents in 1880, 305 in 1910 and 314 in 1950, and 211 in 2020.

Platted 1871, by surveyed by Joseph Garn in September 1871, with John Ickes laying out the first addition that November, as the Toledo branch of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad reached the site.

Where the name comes from

Named for Helena Thompson, the daughter of a local doctor.

Before the town

No Native village, trail, mound, or treaty event specific to Helena is recorded; the village was not platted until 1871, decades after the Native land cessions and removals.

Timeline

1. 1843 — The first United Brethren meeting-house is built in the area, after a class had met in private houses, most often at Joseph Garn's; a new one is built in Helena itself in 1865.
2. 1855 — The German Reformed congregation builds its first church about a mile north of the future village; the present Helena church follows in 1873.
3. 1871 — Helena was laid out after the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad was extended to the site; Joseph Garn surveyed the first lots that September, and Isaac Garn and Jonathan Wagner laid out further additions on the Washington and Jackson township sides respectively. Isaac Garn served as the village's first postmaster.
4. 1871 — Isaac Garn is the first commissioned postmaster and Irvine Mitchell the first merchant; Joseph Garn begins the grain trade as soon as the railroad offers shipping.
5. 1874 — Helena Lodge No. 592 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was chartered May 16 and instituted that July with thirteen members; by 1881 it had grown to ninety-six members and had itself supplied founding members to lodges at Gibsonburg, Bradner, and Bettsville.
6. 1875 — Marvin and Dodge open a store, later moved to Gibsonburg; Frederick Rutchow opens another in 1876 and Garn and Mitchell begin in 1880.
7. 1876 — Tompson Encampment No. 209 of the Odd Fellows is instituted on July 25.
8. 1877 — The Fausey Brothers' store, successor to B. F. Moore's, suspends business.
9. 1880 — The village's recorded population was 111.
10. 1881 — Helena Lodge has 96 members and $2,000 saved toward building a hall.
11. 1910 — The census counts 305 residents in Helena, up from 111 in 1880.
12. 2020 — The census counts 211 residents in Helena, down from 314 in 1950, the highest recorded.

Stories

A railroad town on a township line

Helena was laid out in September 1871 along the Toledo branch of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago, in grain country ten miles from any other market. The county history notes it lay partly in Washington and partly in Jackson township, with Joseph Garn surveying the first lots, John Ickes the first addition that November, Isaac Garn an addition in Washington and Jonathan Wagner one in Jackson. It was one of four rival railroad towns within ten miles of each other, with Burgoon, Millersville and Gibsonburg, and the historian predicted that not all would survive. Helena kept a grain trade, two churches and a lively Odd Fellows lodge whose members were noted for punctual attendance, and stayed small: the census counted 305 people in 1910 and 314 in 1950.

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

No water-system data is linked to Helena's ZIP codes yet.

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2019: 1 of 3 passed.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked. The county's results on file run through 2026-05-05; later elections are not loaded yet.

Statewide question: State Issue 3: Voter ID

Local questions for Helena, Sandusky County and its school district:

• Sandusky County: Renews a 0.55-mill property tax levy for the county Criminal Justice Services of Sandusky County for 5 years, beginning in 2027.

Races, candidates and every question for an address: your ballot. County offices and judges are on your county board's sample ballot.

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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