Tiffin may be most well known because of the devastation caused by the flood of 1913; the 19 people who lost their lives over several weeks literally reshaped the city. But, it is defined by so much more than tragedy. Tiffin-named after Ohio's first governor, Edward Tiffin-was first settled in 1817. The seat of Seneca County has been home to businesses of wide renown: Tiffin Glass, National Machinery, and Ballreich's Potato Chips, among others. Tiffin's institutions of higher learning, Heidelberg and Tiffin Universities, and its strong public and parochial school systems reflect a deep commitment to education among the city's residents. Historic figures like Charles Dickens and Thomas Edison, as well as local luminaries such as Josiah Hedges and Gen. William Harvey Gibson, have played a part in forging Tiffin's history.
