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is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Ohio, United States. Located in northwestern Ohio, the city lies approximately 50 miles (80 km) south of Toledo. The population was 38,967 at the 2000 census. It is home to the University of Findlay. The city's official nickname is "Flag City, USA". Findlay is one of only two cities in Hancock County, along with Fostoria. Findlay is one of the few areas in Northwest Ohio that is still growing.
The Findlay and Hancock County community was named a winner in the first-ever national competition to identify the 100 Best Communities for Young People in September 2005. The honor was awarded through the America's Promise Alliance. Findlay and Columbus were the only two cities in Ohio to receive the distinction. In 2007, Findlay-Hancock County was once again selected (one of 52 repeat honorees), and joined Toledo as the only two cities in Ohio to receive this designation
The city derives its name from a fort erected on its site in 1812 as a local outpost in the War of 1812, which was commenced by Col. James Findlay and named in honor of that officer. The history of Findlay as a village began on the 3rd of July, 1821, when Joseph Vance of Urbana, William Neill of Columbus and Elnathan Cory of New Carlisle entered the area and laid out the site. It was incorporated as a city in 1887.
During the 1880s, Findlay was a booming centre of oil and natural Gas production though the supply of petroleum had dwindled by the early 20th century. The completion of I-75 in the sixties added to the growth of Findlay.
On March 31 1892, the only known lynching in the history of Hancock County occurred when a mob of 1,000 men, many "respectable citizens", broke into the county jail in Findlay. They lynched Mr. Lytle, who had fatally injured his wife and two daughters with a hatchet the day before, by hanging him twice (first from the bridge, then a telegraph pole) and finally shooting his body over a dozen times. The authorities had intended to secretly convey the prisoner to a suburb at 1 o'clock, where a train was to have been taken for Lima, but their plans were frustrated by the mob.
In 1908, American songwriter Tell Taylor wrote the standard, "Down by the Old Mill Stream" while fishing along the Blanchard River in Findlay. The song was published in 1910.
For three months in the early 1960s, Findlay had the distinction of being the only community in the world where touch tone telephone service was available. Touch tone service was first introduced in Findlay on November 1, 1960.