Sebring Ohio Historical Society
126 North 15th Street
Sebring, Ohio 44672
330-938-6920  
1859-Jan. 4,1927 Moved to East Palestine, Ohio to operate the East Palestine
Pottery Company and then the Ohio China Company.  It had not been successful, so
the East Palestine townsmen raised a bonus to build the Ohio China.  This plant was
sold to local interests (which later failed) in about 1899.  The Oliver China
Company was opened in Sebring, Ohio with the proceeds. George took over the
Oliver China Company and placed his son Orval as manager.  In 1908, he planned a
new site in Florida, and sold the plant in Ohio to his brother Ellsworth, who then
changed the name of the pottery to E.H.Sebring China Company. This created a
mess.  The trade got the Sebring China Company and the Sebring Pottery mixed up.  
Bad blood ensued, making it necessary for mail to be held at the post office for the
inspection of a person from each plant to sort the mail.  His home was the first of the
Sebring family to be built in the village, began in 1899.  It had a budget for building
set at $12,000.  It was on the northwest corner of West Ohio Ave. and Sixteenth
street.  George was also the first insurance agent and Real Estate agent in town.  He
also founded Sebring, Florida in 1911.  He sold his Ohio  home to his nephew
Charles Leigh Sebring.
G. E. Sebring was captivated by the area surrounding Lake Jackson (Then Lake
Hare) which he first saw during a fishing trip in Florida and purchased it in 1911 for
the location of his dream city. Sebring, a pottery manufacturer from Sebring, Ohio
founded his dream city in 1912 and named it Sebring, also. Sebring was chartered in
1913 by the Florida legislature. The arrival of the SAL Railroad gave Sebring a
jump start! The aggressive advertising campaign launched in the Northeastern United
States increased the town population quickly. Mr. Sebring was a religious motivator
and gave sites to denominations wishing to locate in the new town. He instructed his
developers to plant a citrus tree in every residential lot, some of which are still
there. The Sebring area continues to grow and boasts a population of over 35,000.  
He was known as an immaculate dresser, like his brother Oliver.
Children: George Eugene Jr., Payne, Dorothy Woodward, H. Orville (Orvel?) and
Mrs. Ethel (Samuel) Rose. Lifelong member of the Methodist church.  Around 1908,
he conceived the idea of founding a town in Florida called Sebring.  Died of acute
indigestion.  Was buried in Sebring, Florida.
See the Sebring, Florida Historical Society for more information.
George E. Sebring, George E. Sebring, Jr., Payne M. Sebring
December 10, 1909
George Eugene Sebring 1859-1927