The Naming of Clyde, Ohio

Why Clyde? Was it some person’s name or a place? Sometime in the mid-nineteenth century, a public meeting was held for the purpose of naming Clyde, Ohio. It has been said that the meeting was held at Hamer’s Tavern, which was located in the triangle of where McPherson Highway (US 20), Maple Street and Main Street meets and connects. A host of names were proposed for the growing town. The most common names proposed, however, were Centreville, Hamersville, and Clyde. It was a Dr. Treadway, a popular local personality at the time, that proposed the name of Clyde, as well as other supporting individuals. Some of the town’s residents were not very thrilled with the choice, but relented when the majority chose it as the official name.

There were other factors, however, contributing to the official designation. The name had already been used in additional Sandusky County records, US postal department records, and regional railroad offices were listing it with that name as well. Curiously, many wonder why the name of Clyde was chosen? It seems that many of the town’s original residents were former citizens of the state of New York. In the state, there is a town named Clyde that sits in the vicinity of the Erie Canal and is located in Wayne County. Oher local historians have said some of Clyde, Ohio’s former original citizens were from Clyde, New York, which was incorporated in 1835. The New York town was named after a river in Scotland called the River Clyde. There is an actual Clyde River that runs near Clyde, New York which is a part of the Seneca River

watershed.

Many original New York settlers to this area traveled via the Erie Canal from New York, including the McPherson, Russell and Birdseye families, though they hailed from Ontario County, the next-door neighbor to Wayne County. Therefore, it makes the most sense as to how this Ohio city got its name as many of its original settlers were New Yorker’s.

Nonetheless, Clyde, Ohio is a unique small Ohio city that has loads of rich local history that has contributed to regional growth and development throughout the decades. It is a small city that still continues to aid in Northwest Ohio industry and is cherished by many of its local residents. So, if you have wondered how Clyde got its name, in a very simple explanation, now you know the rest of the story!