The Village of Ottawa Hills was founded in 1915 by the visionary auto maker John North Willys. Willys was incredibly successful in business and at one point employed almost 40,000 workers in and around Toledo. He purchased 1200 acres west of Toledo and set out to build the ultimate residential community. With a strong focus on community and natural settings, over 35% of the development was set aside for park purposes. The original vision of creating a residential neighborhood in a park like setting still remains to this day.