Today in History—July 15: A War Fought Over Toledo

Today in 1835, blood spilled in one of the weirdest “wars” of all time.

The hyperlocal conflict known as the Toledo War sparked in 1787, when Congress made a mistake: It used inaccurate maps to determine the border between Ohio and Michigan territories. This border was supposed to be simple—a straight line stretching from the southern tip of Lake Michigan eastward.

But the mapmaker drew Lake Michigan just a smidge too far north…inadvertently creating a section of land, called the Toledo Strip, that both Michigan and Ohio had reason to claim.

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Thus the Toledo War began—on paper. (Literally: Much of the Toledo War was “fought” via dueling laws, maps, legislature, newspaper articles, and speeches.)

But our story today focuses on bloodshed, not ink. Michigan’s 1835 bid for statehood heightened IRL tensions between Toledo residents—who largely identified as Ohioans—and Michiganders, who intended to claim the territory.

On July 15, 1835, Michigan Sheriff Joseph Wood was on a rampage. A fan of arresting residents who hung the Ohio flag, he was on the hunt for Toledo “founding father” Benjamin Franklin Stickney (a staunch member of Team Ohio).

Wood entered a tavern expecting to find and arrest Stickney. Instead, he encountered one of his sons: Two Stickney. (Yes, his older brother was named One.) Two, none too happy about the sheriff’s plans, stabbed Wood with a penknife and fled.

Yes, you read that right. The only bloodshed in the Toledo War was a nonfatal wound delivered by a guy named after a number. Michigan’s governor offered a reward for Two’s arrest, but Ohio refused extradition, and Two suffered zero consequences.

After all this, the Toledo War ended with a whimper: The federal government intervened, and in 1837 Michigan became a U.S. state—and Toledo remained part of Ohio.

So did Ohio win the war? It’s hard to say. Though it gained Toledo, historians think the Buckeye State got the short end of the stick. In exchange for losing the under-500-square-mile Toledo Strip, Michigan was given 9,000 square miles of territory in the Upper Peninsula, a land rich in copper, iron, and timber.

In other words: If you’re planning a vacation to the U.P., don’t forget to thank Toledo.

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