Deshler, Ohio is a small community of approximately 1900 people. Located in agriculturally gifted Henry County, Deshler has the nick name of "The Corn City" along with being known as the Crossroads of the B&O.

The Dayton and Michigan (the Toledo Subdivision) predates Deshler by near a quarter century, arriving in southern Henry County in 1855. The Baltimore and Ohio (Willard Subdivision) arrived in 1869. The "Black Swamp" region, in which Deshler sits, is quite fertile farm land, in addition, the D&M discovered that building a reservoir here was quite easy work and the water supply was plentiful. In turn, the D&M constructed a water stop for their trains. Once known as Portage, the town became not only important to agricultural, but also of a rail center and the town was incorporated in 1876. Portage was renamed to Deshler to honor John W. Deshler, local resident and land owner gave the B&O land for their right of way as they built west. In fact, if it had not been for his generosity, the B&O would have opted for a more southerly route through neighboring Belmore in Putnam County. The towns importance grew as rail traffic and agricultural interests in the region increased. In addition to being served by the B&O, the Cincinnati and Lake Erie interurban line also called on Deshler.

In 1931, Deshler became the epicenter of new railroad technology when the B&O built the Deshler tower to house Centralized Traffic Control (CTC). This was one of the first CTC machines installed on the B&O and greatly enhanced operations over the Toledo Division . The dispatcher in the tower controlled the signals and switches between Perry and North Lima, all through the ease of  small levers, lights, and push buttons. On October 25th, 1988, Deshler tower ceased to be a dispatching center when CSX moved all operations to Jacksonville, Florida. The CTC machine was removed and is preserved at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Crossroads Park rest on the location of the former railroad express building and a small hotel. Across Mulberry street, near the big tree, a home once stood. One has to wonder if they complained about their neighbors.