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
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
- Bluffton students to share cross-cultural learning experiences
- September 14 Bluffton Schools athletics lineup, streaming
- Bluffton Schools announce presale football tickets for Sept. 18
- Streaking Pirate volleyball sweeps Allen East
- Pirate girls tennis win vs. Van Wert
- Pirate boys golf sweeps tri match
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
- Phyllis Ann Reynolds, 77, worked at Citizens National Bank
- Jane Ann (Diller) Thurman, 75, was a nursing home administrator
- Julie C. (Field) Amstutz worked for Putnam County ESC
- Pirate volleyball sweep vs. Wayne Trace
- Findlay Patrol's Donovan promoted to sergeant
- Pirate girls soccer win vs. Delphos Jefferson
- Sept. 14 Bluffton Council: Request for RTA bus signs, pre-1950s unused Maple Grove plots tallied
- Mornings with Mommy resume at Trinity Lutheran