Crestline, Ohio

Crestline is a village in Crawford and Richland Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Crestline's population was 4,525 at the 2020 census. It is the third largest municipality in Crawford County. The Crawford County portion of Crestline is part of the Bucyrus Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion of the village that extends into Richland County is considered part of the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Both sections form the Mansfield–Bucyrus, OH Combined Statistical Area.

The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, or the "Bee Line" as it was known then, predated Crestline. Since there was no town between Shelby and Galion, it was decided that a station should be placed halfway for passenger convenience. The station was constructed where the line crossed the Leesville road.^{[citation needed]}

Crestline was platted in 1852. It was once thought to be the highest point in Ohio and was named from its high elevation.

This station soon developed into a town, with a general store, post office, and a few homes. Early settlers in the village believed that the town was the watershed of the state, where streams to the north emptied into Lake Erie and those to the south emptied into the Ohio River, thus the name Crest Line. The town was not directly on the watershed line (but rather just north of the divide), but the name stuck and eventually became one word.

Following his death by assassination, the body of Abraham Lincoln was brought from Washington, D.C. to its final resting place in Lincoln's hometown of Springfield, Illinois, by funeral train. The train left Washington, D.C., on April 21, 1865, at 12:30 pm and traveled 1,654 miles (2,662 km) to Springfield, arriving on May 3, 1865. Several stops were made along the way, including Crestline on April 29, 1865, at 4:07 am.

During its heyday, Crestline was a division point for the Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. The city housed major engine facilities and would often be the point where motive power was changed for the relatively flat runs to and from Chicago, Illinois. In addition to the town's station being a stop on the Pennsylvania Railroad's east–west trains, the station served as a transfer point to the New York Central Railroad's northeast–southwest trains.

On November 1, 1903, two Pennsylvania line train cars carrying dynamite exploded, causing damage to the rail lines and several train cars. This disaster is noted as one of the catalysts which began the regulation of the shipping of hazardous substances.  

The Pennsylvania Railroad's engine facilities included a roundhouse on Crestline Road, decommissioned in 1968 in the aftermath of the merger between the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad to form Penn Central. Demolition of the historic roundhouse commenced in 2007 after years of neglect. But, some buildings still stand. Today, Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad, CSX and Norfolk Southern trains operate in and around Crestline.