Local events in Oak Harbor
Oak Harbor itself has 1 event posted in the next 90 days; the others here are within 20 miles. All local events in Oak Harbor
Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Oak Harbor began
Oak Harbor began as Hartford, a town that Adolphus Kraemer, a Hanover-born physician and civil engineer who had come to the Portage River in 1834, laid out at the head of navigation on the river while the land was still part of Sandusky County. The 1837 financial crisis stalled the sale of lots, and as late as 1857 the place was still a small village known as Hartford when Herman Mylander opened its first general store. Stave, heading, hoop and sawmill works grew up around the river and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and Wheeling & Lake Erie railroads, and the village had 987 residents in 1880. It lies in Salem Township and had 2,821 residents in 2020.
Settled 1834, platted by 1837 (as Hartford), by Adolphus Kraemer (spelled Kreamer in the 1882 Sandusky County history); Ernst Franck, county engineer for thirty-eight years, is also credited with laying out the town.
Where the name comes from
The town was platted as Hartford by Adolphus Kraemer and was still called Hartford in 1857. No source consulted says when or why the name changed to Oak Harbor; a link to oak woods along the Portage River harbor is plausible but unconfirmed.
Before the town
No source consulted records a Native village, trail or burial site at Oak Harbor itself. The 1872 Maumee Valley history says the Ottawa, whose name the county carries, lived on the Maumee and hunted over this county, and that Fremont traders dealt with Wyandot, Seneca and Ottawa customers in the 1830s. The land along the Portage River was ceded under the 1807 Treaty of Detroit.
Nations recorded here: Ottawa.
Timeline
- — Adolphus Kraemer, a physician from Hanover, Germany, moved from Toledo to the site of Oak Harbor; he later served as county surveyor, probate judge and prosecuting attorney.
- — Kraemer, who had platted a town named Hartford at the head of navigation on the Portage River, sold the printing press he had brought there for a newspaper to Lower Sandusky Democrats for $1,200 after the financial crisis stalled lot sales.
- — Surveyor Ernst Franck settled a mile and a half from the site of Oak Harbor, then two or three log cabins; he is credited with laying out the town.
- — Herman H. Mylander opened the first general store in the village, then still known as Hartford, and later made staves and headings there.
- — David Fetterly, Salem Township's first justice of the peace, drowned trying to rescue two men from the Portage River at the site of the Locust Street bridge.
- — Thomas Cullenen bought the first vessel owned by an Oak Harbor resident, the first of any size to enter the harbor.
- — George Gosline began publishing The Press newspaper in Oak Harbor.
- — A hotel opened by timber dealer Deel burned in 1878; his brick Portage House, built in 1879, burned on August 4, 1894.
- — Population recorded at 987.
- — Oak Harbor factories included Ampach Brothers' saw mill and hoop factory (55 hands), C. Roose staves and headings (42) and H. H. Mylander staves and headings (33).
- — Population grew by 70.3 percent over the previous decade.
- — Village population reached 2,821.
Stories
Hartford and the traveling printing press
In the mid-1830s Adolphus Kraemer bought land at the head of navigation on the Portage River, then in Sandusky County, and platted a town he named Hartford, which he expected to become a city. To advertise it he brought a second-hand printing press and type from Toledo to start a newspaper, but the paper never appeared. The financial crisis of 1837 cut off the sale of town lots in what was still wilderness. That fall Democrats at Lower Sandusky, now Fremont, formed an association to start a party paper and sent a committee to Hartford, which bought Kraemer's press and type for $1,200. The equipment was hauled by wagon up the Portage River to the Maumee and Western Reserve road and on to Lower Sandusky, where the first number of the Sandusky County Democrat appeared that fall. Hartford itself stayed small for another twenty years before growing into Oak Harbor.
Photographs
Photo: Dustin M. Ramsey, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: User:Dogfood69, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Ruhrfisch and Nyttend, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · oakharborohio.net · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org
Water
Mostly private wells The water here
- Oak Harbor Village77% of residentsLake Erie
- Ottawa County Regional Water District15% of residentsLake Erie
- Carroll Water and Sewer8% of residentsLake Erie
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Oak Harbor's boundary: 1 fire or EMS station, 3 public schools, 1 private school, 1 library, 1 police station and 4 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Fire and EMS stations (1)
-
Portage Fire DistrictOak Harbor
- Address
- 242 West Water Street, Oak Harbor, OH 43449
- Coordinates
- 41.50789, -83.14881
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.
Public schools (3)
-
Oak Harbor High School4.5 of 5 stars · Oak Harbor
- Address
- 11661 W State Route 163, Oak Harbor, OH 43449
- School district
- Benton Carroll Salem Local School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 649
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 30
- Report card, 2025-26
- 4.5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 89.1%
- Four-year graduation rate
- 99.2%
- Ohio building IRN
- 028183
- NCES school ID
- 390489203452
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oak Harbor Intermediate School4.5 of 5 stars · Oak Harbor
- Address
- 250 N Locust St, Oak Harbor, OH 43449
- School district
- Benton Carroll Salem Local School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 327
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 21
- Report card, 2025-26
- 4.5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 85.7%
- Ohio building IRN
- 067843
- NCES school ID
- 390489203453
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
R C Waters Elementary School5 of 5 stars · Oak Harbor
- Address
- 220 E Ottawa St, Oak Harbor, OH 43449
- School district
- Benton Carroll Salem Local School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 360
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 18
- Report card, 2025-26
- 5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 93.7%
- Ohio building IRN
- 030973
- NCES school ID
- 390489203454
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: NCES EDGE public school locations 2024-25 and Common Core of Data 2023-24 (type, students, teachers); Ohio School Report Cards 2025-26 (Department of Education and Workforce), matched by name within the district.
Private schools (1)
-
St Boniface Elementary SchoolPrivate, Catholic · Oak Harbor
- Address
- 215 W Oak St, Oak Harbor, OH 43449
- Kind
- Catholic
- Students, 2023-24
- 40
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 4.5
- Students per teacher
- 8.88889
- Phone
- (419) 898-1340
- NCES private school ID
- 01061153
Source: NCES Private School Survey 2023-24.
Public libraries (1)
-
Oak Harbor Public LibraryCentral library · Oak Harbor
- Address
- 147 W. Main St., Oak Harbor, OH 43449
- What it is
- Central library
- Library system
- Oak Harbor Public Library
- Open
- 2,600 hours a year, 52 weeks
- Building
- 9,126 sq ft
- System's visits, FY2024
- 34,528
- System's loans, FY2024
- 40,374
- People the system serves
- 9,963
- Phone
- (419) 898-7001
IMLS Public Libraries Survey (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY2024 (outlets and their systems). Any Ohio resident can get a free card at any Ohio public library.
Police stations (1)
-
Oak Harbor Police DepartmentOak Harbor
- Address
- 146 North Church Street, Oak Harbor, OH 43449
- Coordinates
- 41.50913, -83.14724
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: USGS National Map structures, police stations, corrected and completed by hand (September 2026). The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction, not by distance.
Spills reported since 2021 (4)
-
Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)2025-04-09 · Oak Harbor
- Reported
- 2025-04-09
- What spilled
- Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)
- Largest amount reported
- 1 gallons
- Where
- Oak Harbor, Ottawa County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2504EPA0000537
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Material Unknown2024-08-02 · Oak Harbor
- Reported
- 2024-08-02
- What spilled
- Material Unknown
- Where
- Oak Harbor, Ottawa County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2408EPA0001335
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2021-11-19 · Oak Harbor
- Reported
- 2021-11-19
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Largest amount reported
- 30 gallons
- Where
- Oak Harbor, Ottawa County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2111EPA0001756
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S) Reached water2021-07-25 · Oak Harbor
- Reported
- 2021-07-25
- What spilled
- Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S)
- Reached a waterway
- 62 - Portage River
- Where
- Oak Harbor, Ottawa County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2107EPA0001124
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Oak Harbor, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
| ZIP | Share | Water | Radon | Home value | Schools | Flood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43449 Oak Harbor | 35% | Mostly private wells | 3.5 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1963 | Benton Carroll Salem Local · 4.5 stars overall | 20% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Oak Harbor, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Who holds office
| Office | Name | Party | Term ends | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Quinton Babcock | 2027-12-31 | P.O. Box 232 Oak Harbor, OH 43449 | |
| Fiscal Officer | Danna McClanahan | P.O. Box 232 Oak Harbor, OH 43449 | ||
| Council Member | Austin Short | 2027-12-31 | P.O. Box 232 Oak Harbor, OH 43449 | |
| Council Member | Toni Douglas | 2027-12-31 | P.O. Box 232 Oak Harbor, OH 43449 | |
| Council Member | Aimee Renee Kline | 2029-12-31 | P.O. Box 232 Oak Harbor, OH 43449 | |
| Council Member | John D. Crosser [Appt] | 2029-12-31 | P.O. Box 232 Oak Harbor, OH 43449 | |
| Council Member | John Humphrey | 2029-12-31 | P.O. Box 232 Oak Harbor, OH 43449 | |
| Council Member | Jacqueline K. Macko | 2029-12-31 | P.O. Box 232 Oak Harbor, OH 43449 |
Roster as of 2026-04-10: county board of elections.
Money issues on the ballot since 2016: 4 of 5 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 1 of 1.
Ballot issues
| Date | Issue | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-05 | Issue: Village of Oak Harbor Tax Levy Police Village of Oak Harbor | 218 | 128 | Passed (63.01% for) |
| 2024-11-05 | Issue: Village of Oak Harbor Tax Levy Parks | 531 | 877 | Failed (37.71% for) |
| 2022-11-08 | Issue: Village of Oak Harbor Tax Levy | 575 | 482 | Passed (54.4% for) |
| 2020-11-03 | Issue: Village of Oak Harbor Tax Levy (Police) Village of Oak Harbor | 1,030 | 444 | Passed (69.88% for) |
| 2020-11-03 | Issue: Village of Oak Harbor Tax Levy (Natural Gas Aggregation) Village of Oak Harbor | 920 | 522 | Passed (63.8% for) |
| 2016-11-08 | Issue: Village of Oak Harbor Tax Levy Additional Police | 704 | 643 | Passed (52.26% for) |
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-04 | Member of Council | Jacqueline K. Macko 373, 35.56%; John Humphrey 326, 31.08%; Aimee Renee Kline 304, 28.98% |
| 2023-11-07 | Member of Council | Austin C. Short 772, 78.3% |
| 2023-11-07 | Mayor | Quinton Babcock 914, 100.0% |
Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.
Auditor of State record
- No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
- Financial Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-12-02
The county
Ottawa County: 15 ZIP codes, 19 cities, villages and townships, 38,204 people.
Nearby places
Rain and snow
How much has actually fallen on Oak Harbor, day by day, from 1871 to now. Daily totals, not averages.
- rain, last 30 days
- 1.86 in
- 2026-09-29 to 2026-10-28
- rain so far in 2026
- 41.8 in
- 10.4 in above normal for the date
- snow so far in 2026
- 18.7 in
- a normal year brings 26.5 in
- a normal year
- 36.7 in
- average of 30 years, 1991-2020
| Month | Rain (in) | Snow (in) | Days counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 1.86 | — | 28 |
| September 2026 | 2.98 | — | 30 |
| August 2026 | 5.14 | — | 31 |
| July 2026 | 6.97 | — | 31 |
| June 2026 | 7.75 | — | 30 |
| May 2026 | 3.59 | — | 31 |
| April 2026 | 7.41 | — | 30 |
| March 2026 | 4.63 | — | 31 |
| February 2026 | 0.17 | 0.8 | 28 |
| January 2026 | 1.30 | 17.9 | 31 |
| December 2025 | 1.66 | 5.4 | 31 |
| November 2025 | 2.17 | 4.0 | 30 |
| Wettest year | 2011 — 54.6 in |
|---|---|
| Driest year | 1963 — 19.3 in |
| Snowiest year | 2014 — 63.4 in |
| Wettest day on record | 5 July 1969 — 6.09 in |
| Heaviest snowfall in a day | 23 December 2004 — 12.78 in |
| Deepest snow on the ground | 1 February 1978 — 22.22 in |
Mostly estimated. Only 2% of these days come from a gauge standing inside Oak Harbor - the rest are worked out from the nearest gauges around it, so read them as close estimates rather than readings.
56,914 days of records, 1871-01-01 to 2026-10-28. Source: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily, 3,240 gauges in and around Ohio. A day is "gauged" when a gauge standing inside the boundary reported it, and the value is the mean of those gauges. Otherwise it is interpolated by inverse distance from every gauge reporting within 50 miles. Nothing is carried forward, back-filled or smoothed. Against NOAA nClimDiv county monthly precipitation over 136,848 complete county-months (checked 2026-10-31): correlation 0.9515, median absolute difference 0.217 in a month. Built 2026-10-31 from the Cracked Buckeye precipitation archive. Snow is the softer number — snowfall is measured by hand with a ruler, no agency publishes a gridded county snowfall series, and blowing snow defeats every observer.
Environmental permits and filings
What Ohio EPA has on file for Oak Harbor: permits, inspections, violations, cleanups and the state loans behind sewer and water work. Every line links to the agency's own document.
- facilities and sites on file
- 10
- those placed on the map inside Oak Harbor
| Program | Facilities and sites |
|---|---|
| State water loans | 4 |
| Hazardous waste | 3 |
| Public drinking water | 1 |
| State sewer loans | 1 |
| Wastewater and stormwater discharge | 1 |
| Date | Facility or site | What |
|---|---|---|
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water report | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water notice of violation | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water notice of violation | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water plan | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water report | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water notice of violation | |
| CHURCH STREET IMPROVEMENTS | Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| OAK HARBOR WWTP | State sewer loans | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water plan | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | State water loans | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water monitoring results | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter | |
| OAK HARBOR WWTP | State sewer loans | |
| OAK HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter |
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.
Quick answers
What county is Oak Harbor, Ohio in?
Oak Harbor is a village in Ottawa County, Ohio, with 2,805 residents.
When was Oak Harbor, Ohio founded?
Oak Harbor was settled 1834; laid out by 1837 (as Hartford). Founders on record: Adolphus Kraemer (spelled Kreamer in the 1882 Sandusky County history); Ernst Franck, county engineer for thirty-eight years, is also credited with laying out the town. Source
How did Oak Harbor, Ohio get its name?
The town was platted as Hartford by Adolphus Kraemer and was still called Hartford in 1857. Source
What ZIP code is Oak Harbor, Ohio?
Most of Oak Harbor is in ZIP code 43449.
Where does Oak Harbor, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Oak Harbor (Oak Harbor Village): Mostly private wells.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Oak Harbor, Ottawa County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/oak-harbor/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-10-31
