Blood & Biohazard Cleanup Near West Willard Willard, OH

Willard is a city in southwestern Huron County, about 14 miles southwest of Norwalk, with 6,197 residents at the 2020 census.

Willard began in 1874 as a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad junction town originally named simply 'Chicago,' for the B&O's branch line west to Chicago, Illinois.

Because passengers kept confusing the town with Chicago, Illinois, it was renamed Chicago Junction — but the word 'Junction' wouldn't fit on station boards, so the confusion continued.

In 1917 the town finally renamed itself Willard, in honor of Daniel Willard, the longtime president of the B&O Railroad from 1910 to 1941.

Chicago Junction was incorporated in 1882 with a population of about 800 and Samuel Snyder as its first mayor; Willard did not officially become a city until 1960.

The first mixed passenger-and-freight train ran through the junction on January 1, 1874, and through service to Chicago began that November.

Railroading still defines the town: CSX Transportation's Willard Yard is one of the city's key employers and landmarks.

Other major Willard employers include Pepperidge Farm, the Lakeside Book Company printing plant (formerly LSC Communications and R.R. Donnelley), Star of the West Milling Company, and Mercy Health – Willard Hospital.

Willard's population has stayed remarkably steady for decades, hovering between about 6,200 and 6,800 residents since 1970.