Following the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 and the end of the War of 1812, the Maumee Valley became open to settlement. John Pray arrived in 1817, built a dam to run a mill, and the site became known as Pray's Falls. By 1831, Pray had platted the first 50 lots and called it Waterville. Others were attracted to the area, and the trading post inn that Pray had constructed in 1828 was greatly enlarged in 1837. The Columbian House became an important stop on the stagecoach run between Fort...