Salina, New York

(8-16-23) St. Marys’ resident James Christman wrote the following story about the origination of Celina. Christman is an Auglaize County resident with passion for history.

His posting on his Facebook page goes into detail how St. Marys played a key part in the found of Celina.

Christman notes in his posting…Salina (NY) was situated on the edge of Onondaga Lake near Syracuse, NY, and Riley noted that it was quite similar to the location of his proposed settlement. He determined the name of the new settlement should be Celina

Trivialities between to the two communities started very early… Animosity developed between Celina and St. Marys however over the charging of fees and tolls for use of the canal and locks to get to Grand Lake

According to Christman the material in this posting is a compiling of data from numerous sources.

Be sure to check out James Christman’s Facebook Page

Did you know…

There are only two other towns in the US named Celina…one in Tennessee and one in Texas.

Celina, Tennessee — Celina was founded in the 19th century and named after the daughter of local pioneer entrepreneur and educator, Moses Fisk.

Celina, Texas — Celina was not established until 1876, settlers came into the area at a much earlier date. In October 1879, a settlement formed 1 mi (1.6 km) south of its current location. A Methodist church was built in 1880, and it doubled as a schoolhouse for a short time. Celina’s first postmaster John T. Mulkey renamed the town after his hometown – Celina, Tennessee. By 1884, Celina had a gristmill, cotton gin, school, several general stores, and a drug store that has been opened in “Old Celina.”