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Bluffton in the 1890s: A horse drawn economy

Posted by Staff on January 29, 2023 - 7:26am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Can you guess the number of horses in Richland Township and Bluffton 128 years ago? Try 683. That’s nearly 1 horse for every 5 persons here.

That interesting statistic is one of several uncovered in an assessment of Richland Township and the Village of Bluffton in 1895.

Most of the details relate to agriculture, simply because our American society was agriculturally based at this time.

The Bluffton News reported the assessor’s 1985 finding. We’ve posted these directly from the News story, that follows:

Assessor J.W. Steiner made his report to the county auditor last Friday, after having put in 31 days in gathering the usual statistics and data for the township and corporation. 

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Historical Bluffton
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Dillinger bullets on Cherry St.

Posted by Staff on January 22, 2023 - 5:48am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

You’ve walked past these holes countless times, but never thought to look up.

It is believed that these holes, created by bullet shots, on the side of the outside wall of 101 N. Main St., were created when John Dillinger’s gang robbed Citizens National Bank on Monday, Aug. 14, 1933.

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Historical Bluffton
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History group schedules monthly meetings

Posted by Paula Scott on January 17, 2023 - 10:40am

By Paula Scott

On Wednesday, January 11, nineteen individuals who are interested in the history of the Bluffton area gathered for an exploratory meeting on the topic of creating a Bluffton historical society and museum, with or without the “Historical Society” name tag.

The meeting was chaired by Dan Groman, a vintage Chevy car enthusiast who has visited many historical sites across Ohio. Groman collected names and emails from those in attendance and scheduled future meetings on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, with a February 8 meeting planned for 7:00 p.m.

Welcoming those in attendance, Groman explained that he has visited several excellent museums in small Ohio communities and decided that it was time to pitch a similar endeavor to residents of the Bluffton area.

The first steps towards creating a historical organization are forming a nonprofit organization with bylaws. Groman has started sketching out bylaws using another organization’s rules as a template. The discussion included the idea of creating a committee to visit museums and to begin holding monthly meetings. 

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Historical Bluffton
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Bluffton Forever: It's January 1965

Posted by Staff on January 3, 2023 - 7:26am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

It's January 1965. Dick Boehr took this photo of the Stauffer Brother's Pure Oil station at the corner of Main and Elm - directly across from the town hall.

We can't read the gas pumps, except that leaded gas was around 33 cents a gallon.

Today a different building stands there, housing Smith Realty, Padrone's Pizza and Ameriprise.

Here are several observations about this photo and Icon viewers are invited to offer more thoughts.

It appears that a 1955 Oldsmobile, with its hood up, is parked on at the station. The vehicle on the street could be a 1947 or 1948 what? Chevy? Ford? Help us out, Icon viewers.

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Historical Bluffton
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Bluffton, a boom town

Posted by Staff on December 18, 2022 - 7:52am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Bluffton’s golden age may well have been the decade of the 1890s. You might call Bluffton a boom town during this decade.  

Consider:

• Oil and natural gas was discovered in Findlay 10 years earlier

• Town hall built in 1887

• Water plant in service in 1896

• Telephone arrived in 1898

• Central Mennonite College opened in 1889

• Population in 1900 was 1,783; 50 years earlier the town has 12 families

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Historical Bluffton
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Bluffton mystery beasts, part 2

Posted by Staff on December 11, 2022 - 8:00am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Remember the Bluffton mystery animal from 1956 posted on the Icon last week? (Read the article HERE.)

Well, it returned in 1958–or perhaps a close relative showed up, instead. Several Bluffton residents reported large animal sightings in the fall of 1958. Those sightings continued well into 1959, reported in the Bluffton News.

Here are accounts from the Bluffton News about the 1958 bobcat, wildcat, puma, or whatever it was.

First read this story from 1925
But, as a preamble, check out this news item from the Feb. 5, 1925, Bluffton News: A 75-pound timber wolf was killed by a posse of Hardin County farmers near Ada last week. 

The killing of the wolf is believed to solve the mystery of the loss of large numbers of livestock whose half devoured carcasses have been found on the edge of the marsh during the past two years. A.D. Eply fired the shot which crippled the wolf before it was clubbed to death by the farmers.

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Historical Bluffton
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