Downtown Tiffin Historic District

Downtown Tiffin's historic district covers the commercial core of the Seneca County seat, mainly along South Washington Street. It contains many commercial buildings from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, and most were built before 1900. Intrusions are few, chiefly newer banks and parking lots. The southern end is more residential, with buildings spaced farther apart. Notable structures include the Tiffin Woolen Mill, begun in 1863; the Benner-Stalter-McCauley-Moore Block of 1895-1897, with palladian-style upper windows and a bracketed cornice; the Tomb Block, whose monumental two-story bank entry was added in the 1920s; and the Gross or Sneath Block, with carved stone pediments and a stone eagle. Civic and institutional buildings include the Seneca County Court House, the Tiffin-Seneca Library, a Carnegie-funded building designed by Columbus architect John Mengus Marriott and opened in 1913, and St. Paul's United Methodist Church, built from 1874 and dedicated in 1875. Together they document the city's commercial, industrial, religious and civic growth.