Potsdam

How Potsdam began

Potsdam is a village in Union Township, Miami County, laid out about 1840 by George Hatfield as Georgetown, also called New Lebanon, in Sections 15 and 22, within sight of the Darke County line. Its post office, opened in 1861, was named Potsdam, and the post-office name eventually became the village's name. In 1880 about 150 people lived there, with a German Baptist church and a large dry-goods trade; by 1909 it had about 250 people and Mennonite, United Brethren and German Baptist congregations. Population has stayed between about 185 and 311 since 1900 and was 225 in 2020.

Platted c. 1840, by George Hatfield (as Georgetown, also called New Lebanon), per the 1880 county history.

Where the name comes from

The village was laid out about 1840 as Georgetown, also called New Lebanon; its post office, opened in 1861, was named Potsdam (spelled Pottsdam in the 1880 county history).

Before the town

No Native American sites, villages, or trails specific to Potsdam itself are recorded.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee, Miami.

Timeline

1. 1840 — George Hatfield lays out Georgetown, also called New Lebanon, in Sections 15 and 22 of Union Township, close enough to the Darke County line to draw part of its trade from there; its growth is slow because of its isolation.
2. 1861 — A post office named Potsdam began operating.
3. 1880 — The county history gives Georgetown about 150 people, a German Baptist church, a large dry-goods trade run by Levi Ammon & Sons, and a post office spelled 'Pottsdam'; its once-large oak shingle trade had ended.
4. 1900 — The census counts 224 people in Potsdam (New Lebanon).
5. 1902 — Potsdam Council of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics is organized on September 17.
6. 1909 — The centennial history reports about 250 people at New Lebanon, or Georgetown, with a German Baptist church, a Mennonite church presided over by H. F. Beck and a United Brethren church, and the post office at Potsdam.
7. 1918 — Potsdam-born U.S. Army Brigadier General Edward Sigerfoos, mortally wounded in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive on September 29, dies of his wounds on October 7 in France.
8. 1920 — The census counts 185 residents, down from 227 in 1910.
9. 1970 — Village population peaked at 311 residents.
10. 2000 — The census counts 203 residents, the low point since 1920; the count rises to 288 in 2010 and is 225 in 2020.

Stories

A village with three names

Georgetown was laid out around 1840 by George Hatfield in Union Township, on land within sight of the Darke County line. Its isolation kept it small, with about 150 people in 1880, but it supported a large dry-goods store run by Levi Ammon & Sons and an oak-shingle trade until pine shingles from elsewhere ended it. It was also called New Lebanon, but its post office, opened in 1861, was named Potsdam, spelled Pottsdam in the 1880 county history, and by the 1909 history the town itself is described as New Lebanon, or Georgetown, with its post office at Potsdam. Over the following decades the post-office name prevailed. The county history does not say why the post office was named Potsdam; Wikipedia says German settlers named it for the Prussian city, without citing a source.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · thislocallife.com · archive.org · archive.org · postalhistory.com

Mostly private wells The water here

• Laura Village100% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Basic Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-12-05

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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