Napoleon

Napoleon is located along the Defiance Section of the Buckeye Trail in the Miami & Erie Canal Chapter area. Napoleon became the 14th Trail  Town May 16, 2019.

Napoleon is a city in Henry County, in the northwest section of the state, located on the Maumee River, 44 miles southwest of Toledo.

The area around Napoleon was known as “The Great Black Swamp”. The area was about 25 miles wide, north to south, and 100 miles long, covering an estimated 1,500 square miles.  The name came from the heavy cover of massive trees and the black mud beneath. The swamp was a barrier to settlement in the first half of the 1800s. When a small part of the swamp was drained, it was found that the soil underneath the water was extremely fertile. This led to the widespread draining of the Great Black Swamp starting in the 1850s. In 1859, the Ohio General Assembly passed a law authorizing county commissioners to construct drainage ditches. Farmers benefiting from ditch construction shared the costs. Today the land around Napoleon is still mainly farmland.

The town was named after the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in 1832.  The town was mainly settled by German immigrants that worked on the Miami and Erie Canal. Over time, the dense forest was cleared, drainage technology improved and the population grew due to the Miami & Erie Canal and two railroad lines.

The Buckeye Trail enters the Napoleon area from the south via County Road 424 (also known as old US 24).  The first park encountered along the Maumee River is Meyerholtz Park with an open shelter house and picnic tables. The Trail will follow along the Maumee River, passing through Ritter Park. Ritter Park has a boat launch, picnic tables, a stone Shelter House and flush toilet restrooms. After you leave Ritter Park heading northeast, you will notice the majestic County Courthouse and other buildings in the downtown Napoleon area. The Henry County Courthouse was designed in the Second Empire style by architect David W. Gibbs, built in 1880, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In the downtown area, there are numerous restaurants, convenience, and drug stores.   As you leave the city limits, there will be the East Riverdowns Park for your convenience with picnic tables, a restroom, and drinking fountains.  The Buckeye Trail follows County Road 424 out of town, heading east.

Plan Your Visit

The Henry County Historical Society (HCHS) operates two museum sites in Napoleon.

The first is the Historic Complex at the Henry County Fairgrounds. This site contains several historic buildings and structures including the Nathaniel Hartman Log Home c. 1860-1866, the 1897 Emmanuel Lutheran One Room Schoolhouse & Museum, the Agricultural Building, Smokehouse, and the c. 1910 Historic Gazebo.

The HCHS’s second location is the beautiful Victorian Queen Anne-style building, the Dr. John Bloomfield Home & Carriage House Museum located at 229 W Clinton St, across from the Napoleon Public Library. The Home was built in 1894 and has been restored and serves as the main museum for the HCHS.

Stop for a photo op at the Napoleon mural located at the intersection of Clinton and Perry Streets. There are many interesting architectural buildings in the downtown area, including the County Courthouse.

Leaders Farm-two miles outside of Napoleon Great place to go for a day of kid’s activities with a horrifying twist at night for adults. They have a giant corn maze which is cut differently every year, pumpkin cannons, hayrides, zombie paintball, mini golf, gold mining, and a petting zoo. Leaders Farm is open seasonally in the fall.

Accommodations

There are several listings available on Airbnb for lodging in Napoleon.

Hotels

  •  Holiday Inn Express & Suites  1290 Independence Drive

  • Comfort Inn & Suites  590 Bonaparte Drive

Camping

  • Rotary Riverside Preserve Campsite

    • At 1.7 miles E of Route 6 overpass, a primitive campsite is available on property owned by the Black Swamp Conservancy.  Call the Director tel:419-833-1025 at least 48 hours prior.

  • Mary Jane Thurston State Park

    • There is camping at Mary Jane Thurston State Park west of Grand Rapids, fee is required.