In 1680 French explorer La Salle was sent to the territory of The Black Swamp. The region became a point of exchange for the fur-bearing region around the Maumee River. The area developed continually with the government building roads and canals to the west. In 1837, the Hicks Land Company sent A.P. Edgerton to the territory to start a new town and in 1838 he became the first postmaster. Hicksville kept growing and by 1860 had 910 residents. Logging was done extensively and settlers bought land holdings. In the founding days of Hicksville, before the Civil War, native oak and ash were the raw materials used to start “handle” factories. Hicksville’s first industries. In 1870 it was learned that a railroad was to be built by the B&O Railroad Company. In order to bring it through the town, Mr. Edgerton gave a right of way through Defiance County, and on August 13th, 1874 the first train passed through Hicksville.