Main Street Bluffton in the summer of 1959
Click on photo to enlarge
Main Street Bluffton in the summer of 1959 looked like this. On the west side of Main Street to Church Street is C.F. Niswander and Son farm implements, Urich's IGA, the Charles Co., Crow's 5 and 10, and Citizens National Bank.
On the east side is the Carma Theater, The Horseshoe Grill and Niswander's Newstand.
There are several other things to notice. First, there are no painted parking spots. There is no planned curbs or sidewalks. Next, check out the street lights. Also, look for the awnings - they aren't there. The trash containers are interesting.
One more thing, there is only one stoplight at the corner of Main and Church-Cherry. This photo is from a postcard of Bluffton "distributed by Niswander Newstand."
- From the collection of Fred Steiner
Stories Posted This Week
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, October 14
- CANCELLED Main St. closure on October 15
- Frederick Clyde Warren founded True-2-Form Plastics
- October 15 Bluffton Schools athletics lineup, streaming
- Pirate boys soccer beats Wapak in regular season finale
- Pirate girls soccer defeats Liberty Center
- Mennonite pastor to explore ‘good news’ in creation
- Bluffton University earns recognition in U.S. News & World Report rankings
- Obituary for Deborah "Debbie" Welch, 74
- Spirits and exorcism presentation during University Spiritual Life Week Forum
- Dodging bullets: Bluffton oral history 90+ years after Dillinger robbery
- Nora Matthews named BHS Student of the Month for September 2026
- ICAPP analysis on charter status and local autonomy
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, October 13
- Bluffton area Women in Business meeting October 15
- Leo club glasses collection
- Night at the (Swiss Historical) Museum, October 24
- Woodcarving ornament workshop at Swiss Heritage Center
- Barefoot nature walks at the Nature Preserve
- Pirate volleyball seeded 4th
- Beavers sports roundup, October 6-11
- Bluffton leaf pickup scheduled for last week of October
- Pirate boys soccer shuts out Bellefontaine
- Watch an after school movie at the Bluffton Public Library
- Dunlap awarded OSBA humanitarian award