The History of Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber of Commerce is the only organization consistently and exclusively engaged in promoting the civic and economic development of Ottawa and the surrounding area. A Commercial Club was started in 1889, which was formalized in 1900. This club existed until 1905, when a more organized Ottawa Business Men's Association was formed. This association, in turn, led to the formation of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce in 1921. The Chamber was incorporated on December 11,1929. The corporate name was changed to the Greater Ottawa Chamber of Commerce in 1979. A name change was again made in 1987 to the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce. Both changes were made to encompass the concerns of the entire Franklin County area. This represents over seventy years of local activity by business and professional men and women whose function in all cases has been to bring about cooperatively better things for Ottawa.

The Chamber, through its committee organization, has been the catalyst for almost every program that improved the quality of life in Ottawa, i.e., flood control; highways, including I-35; Northeast Ottawa Industrial Park; Main Street Organization; Haley Community Park; jobs through new business and industry; the City Manager form of city government and the County Administrator form of county government, to name a few.

Ottawa Industrial Development, Inc., was created as an incorporated non-profit committee of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and served and functioned as an industrial development committee of the Chamber. O.I.D. was incorporated in 1945. In 1985 the name changed and a separate not-for-profit organization was formed to create Ottawa/ Franklin County Economic Development, Inc.

The Chamber initiated formation of the Ottawa Central Business District, Inc. in 1979 to formulate a long-range program to revitalize the downtown area of Ottawa with emphasis on the existing Victorian architecture. Several years of meetings and surveys led to a plan being implemented by the city of Ottawa in 1982 with construction work being completed in 1984. This affiliate organization has been dormant since the completion of the project, which included widening of Main Street, replacement of curb and gutter, removal and replacement of the surface of Main Street, improvement of Main Street lighting, building crosswalk extensions, replacement of service lines to the meters and landscaping to improve the aesthetic value.

The Chamber, through its long history of successful promotion of community development, works closely with the city of Ottawa and Franklin County.

Today the Chamber boasts a membership of over 290 businesses and over 40 individuals.