1906 - No spitting on the sidewalk
2023: Automobiles replace electric railroad
By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com
Some photos are worth one-thousand words. This photo (on top) could rival War and Peace, containing slightly north of one-half million.
We’ll save viewers lots of time by offering highlights.
• Year: 1906
• Event: Bricking Bluffton’s Main Street for the first time
• Location: Looking south on Main
• Specifically: CNB on right side, Edward Jones on left
• Activity: Men bricking the street, posing for the photographer; check out bricks on sidewalks
• Sign of the times: On the far right side a sign reading, “No Spitting On The Sidewalk”
• Translation: Tobacco chewing men, hobbling out of saloons – if they could read, were put on notice
• Biggest surprise: A railroad track on Main Street
• Surprise number 2: A rail siding heading off to the left
(today’s walking alleyway between Shannon Theatre and Ten Thousand Villages)
More photos HERE.
Stories Posted This Week
Sunday, November 1, 2026
Saturday, October 31, 2026
Friday, October 30, 2026
- Main St. runway for Trick or Treaters
- October 30 Bluffton Schools athletics lineup, streaming
- What Kind of Paradise author joins book club by Zoom, Nov. 4
- Check out November 2026 events at Bluffton Public Library
- Scarecrow voting ends at midnight, Oct. 31
- Annual meeting and dinner for Senior Center members, November 9
- November 2026 Community Meals at the Senior Center
- Pirate girls soccer edged in shootout by Big Green in district final
Thursday, October 29, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, October 29
- Bluffton chamber welcomes six new members in October 2026
- Scam talk with Chief Ryan Burkholder
- Apollo Career Center honored as Gold Star Institution
- Peanut brittle time at the Senior Center begins Nov. 9
- Bluffton University Forum explores faith, hope and care for creation
- Business Collective networking night, Nov. 5
- Radio play staging of It's a Wonderful Life on Nov. 29
- Test-to-Treat not Trick-or-Treat
- If only we could put these fall days on pause