Here's a second view of Bluffton from the skys of the late 1940s or early 1950s. This shot is of Main Street (Dixie Highway) taken from Poplar Street looking north.
There are historic Bluffton photographs and then there a historic gems. This is a gem. Bluffton from the air in the early 1950s. There are several structures to point out. We will allow Icon viewes to comment on those.
Before there was a Dixie Highway...before there was a Lincoln Highway...before there was a State RoutE 235...railroads were the way to travel.
Here's a 1902 photograph of neighboring Ada's Pennsylvania Railroad depot. The line connected New York City and Chicago with very fast service. Depending upon your point of view, not much or, quite a bit has change in 110 years.
No, you aren't in Bluffton, anymore. This is Ada. The year is 1902 and the photograph shows the major building of what was called Ohio Normal University on South Main Street Ada. This photo is from a book of Ada photos titled "Ada and the O.N.U. - The New and the Old," published in 1902. The booklet is from the collection of Bob Barnett.
Ever wonder about how the interstate was constructed around Bluffton? Actually this photo might be pre-interstate. First there was the Dixie Highway from Lima through Beaverdam, through Bluffton (Main Street) and onto Findlay. It was two-lanes all the way.
In the early 1950s a bypass of Bluffton was created. That bypass eventually became part of the future Interstate 75, which came later in the 1950s.
Here's a photo near Bluffton of either the bypass or Interstate as the cement goes on the future highway.
