Old Armory Was Home to Foster Light Guards
April 28, 1996, article one

PIX #1 - Dedicated in 1893, the Armory at Poplar and McDougal Streets was headquarters for Fostoria’s National Guard Unit, the Foster Light Guards. Thanks to Ray Dell for the use of this photograph.

If you wander down to the corner of Poplar and McDougal Sts., you’ll see a large, old, two-story, west-facing, brick building. It’s a little on the used up side now. He windows are boarded up. But once, over 100 years ago, that structure was the focus of one of the proudest moments in Fostoria’s rich history. Many residents know that building was ”the old armory.”

But on March 15, 1893, the then brand new Armory was dedicated. The Daily Times proclaimed the occasion “An Auspicious Event in Fostoria’s Civil and Military History.” In an era when transportation was more arduous than now, many towns, regardless of size, built and maintained armories to house and train their own National Guard Units.

The Armory at Poplar and McDougal was formally turned over that day to Company D, 16th Regiment of the Ohio National Guard. That unit was popularly known as “The Foster Light Guards” in honor of Fostoria’s namesake, Charles Foster. Co. D, 16th Rgt., O.N.G. was officially organized on July 6, 1877. On the day of the Armory’s dedication, the Foster Light Guards were commanded by Capt. Jacob Krieger.

In June 1892 the Seneca County Commissioners awarded the contract for the Armory’s construction to contractor Edward Breidinger for the now unimaginable sum of $4,066. The purchase of land, adornment of grounds and laying of sidewalks sent the total cost spiraling to nearly $7,000.

The Armory was designed by a Tiffin architect named Hewitt and was built in the Norman style. It was built of brick with stone trim. The drill room or main hall was one story, measured 50 x 80 ft. And had a 14 ft. High ceiling. The section of the building facing Poplar was two stories tall and housed the headquarters offices.

Dedication Day was an occasion long-remembered around town. The festivities commenced at 2 p.m. with selections by Leon’s Orchestra. Shortly thereafter, Governor and future President William McKinley arrived with his staff, having been escorted from the train depot by a contingent of the Knights of Pythias and the Foster Light Guard.

After the invocation by Rev. Jameson, the Governor properly inspected the Armory. Then Seneca County Commissioner Nicholas Burtscher, the driving force behind the construction of the Armory, officially turned it over to Co. D.

Then everyone adjourned to long tables in the drill room where a prodigious dinner of scalloped oysters, roast veal, chick and gravy, turkey and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, baked corn, pumpkin pie and quite a few other delectable-sounding morsels was mercilessly dispatched. Dinner was prepared by “John Ulrich, the prince of caterers.”

Local physician Dr. P.L. Myers then took up his toast-mastering duties and introduced the governor. McKinley’s remarks recalled the contribution of Ohio in the Civil War. That conflict had concluded less than 30 years earlier. He noted that when President Lincoln asked for more soldiers in 1864, 40,000 Ohio National Guardsmen answered duty’s call.

And, of course, Charles Foster himself was on hand, then serving in the capacity as U.S. Treasury Secretary.

The proceedings’ most enthusiastically received speaker was Gen. W.H. Gibson who spoke further on the role of Ohio’s volunteers “in the late rebellion.” He earned lusty cheers when he voiced his hope that “the time would speedily come when the whole of North America would be included under the general government of the United States.”

More encouragement was forthcoming when Gen. Gibson announced as well that he “wanted the Canadians to belong to the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

After the speechifying was complete, the Dedication Ball got underway. The Daily Times stated, “The youth and beauty, the grave and the gay, the plebeian and the aristocrat, all were there and all were in their glory. It was not a mingling of caste but rather a spontaneous outpouring of the masses to pay their tribute to the management for the pains it had taken to afford an opportunity to see Fostoria at its best.”

And the Armory was surely as fittingly dedicated that night as a building can get. The Daily Times reported that dancing was indulged in until 5 o’clock in the morning when the throng finally “wearily dispersed to their houses.” Those Foster Light Guards clearly know how to dedicate an armory.

But after all the fanfare, the Armory served in that capacity for only a brief period. Paul Krupp in a 1979 “Potluck” column in the Review-Times reported that perhaps as early as 1900 Co. D had moved to other lodgings, possibly due to high operation of the building.

A curious variety of enterprises occupied the Armory in the ensuing years. Around 1906 it was a roller skating rink called The Coliseum (Paul Krupp’s aunt won a skating contest there).

Before that it was home to The Fostoria Times newspaper under publisher G.G. Grimes.

The Deisel-Wemmer Cigar Co., the A.H. Jackson Mfg. Co. (An underwear maker), Don Burke’s tire store and repair shop, Bruce Kissel’s roofing and sheet metal business, Fostoria Trailer Mfg. And several warehousing operations have taken their turn in the Armory.

In 1977 there was some discussion that the building would be taken over by the Fostoria Area Historical Society. IN 1979 Society members Orrin Hammer and Paul Cox began some restoration work. Being in their 80's at the time, they strapped on safety harnesses while they worked on the roof.

Today Gray Printing owns the Armory and they use it for storage.

It’s been 90 some odd years since the men of the Foster Light Guards drilled and trained in the Armory, preparing for civil or military conflict. It seems odd that the building served its intended purpose for only a few years. But it still stands, a reminder of life and times long gone, here in good old Fostoria.