1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Van Wert

VAN WERT, a city and the county-seat of Van Wert county, Ohio, U.S.A., about 28 m. W. by N. of Lima. Pop. (1890) 5512; (1900) 6422 (221 foreign-born); (1910) 7157. Van Wert is served by the Pennsylvania and the Cincinnati Northern railways, and by an interurban electric line. Among the principal buildings are the city hall, the court house, the Brumback Library of Van Wert county (containing 14,650 volumes in 1908), the Home Office Building of the Home Guards of America (a fraternal society incorporated in 1899 and having about 16,000 members in 1910), and the Home Office Building of the Central Manufactures' Insurance Co. Van Wert is situated in a rich agricultural region. It has railway and machine shops and various manufactures. The municipality owns and operates the waterworks. Van Wert was settled about 1840, was incorporated as a town in 1848 and was chartered as a city in 1903. The county and the city were named in honour of Isaac Van Wert (1760-1828), one of the captors of Major John André.