[5] The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo.

In the War of 1812, Colonel James Findlay of Cincinnati built a road and a stockade to transport and shelter troops in the Great Black Swamp region.

The first town lots were laid out in 1821 by future Ohio Governor Joseph Vance and Elnathan Corry.

[9][10] In 1861, David Ross Locke moved to Findlay, where he served as editor for the Hancock Jeffersonian newspaper until he left in 1865.

[12] During the 1880s, Findlay was a booming center of oil and natural gas production, though the supply of petroleum had dwindled by the early 20th century.

The authorities had intended to secretly convey the prisoner to a suburb at one o'clock, where a train was to have been taken for Lima, but their plans were frustrated by the mob.

[15] In 1908, American songwriter Tell Taylor wrote the standard, "Down by the Old Mill Stream" while fishing along the Blanchard River in Findlay.

A disaster occurred during the 1936 Independence Day celebration, where a stray firework fell into a crowd, injuring 16 people and attracting national media attention.

[16][17] 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.

[28][29] Findlay was the longtime headquarters of the Marathon Oil Corporation from 1905 until 1990 when it moved its offices to Houston, Texas.

[30] Findlay is home to several other major distribution centers, including Best Buy, Lowe's, and Campbell Soup Company.

The current mayor, Christina Muryn, was first elected in 2019 and then reelected in 2023, with her second four-year term beginning on January 1, 2024.

[33] Findlay has previously hosted multiple professional sports teams in minor league baseball, as well as amateur and semi-professional hockey.

Beginning in 2008, the Findlay Grrrowl played Junior A hockey at the Cube Ice Arena at the Hancock Recreation Center.

In 2009, the Grrrowl won the United Junior Hockey League's only championship beating the Jamestown Jets two games to one.

Historically, the Baltimore & Ohio, the New York Central, and the Nickel Plate Road operated passenger train service through Findlay.

[43] For decades, students attended one of three junior high schools: Donnell (Atoms), Central (Spartans), or Glenwood (Eagles).

Another new school built directly behind the original Glenwood building on North Main Street officially opened and began usage in January 2013.

A new Performing Arts Center (funded mainly by Marathon Petroleum) was constructed by refurbishing and renovating Central's auditorium, finishing in December 2015.

Students enrolled in the preveterinary or western equestrian studies have access to a 152-acre farm operated by the university.

Those students who are pursuing a degree in English equestrian studies have access to a separate rural facility composed of 32 acres, which includes the University Equine Veterinary Services Inc.[48] Winebrenner Theological Seminary also makes its home in Findlay, adjacent to the university.

[49] The library was established on April 16, 1888, and was originally housed in the Hancock County Courthouse basement until it was able to move into an old post office building in 1935.