Can you identify this one-time Bluffton enterprise?
Let's see, how old must you be to recognized this once-familiar Bluffton scene? Fifty-five, at least.
It's a beautifully framed black and white photograph taken by Paul Diller. His son, Jim, shares this photo with Icon viewers.
Can you believe that at one time Bluffton had its own electrical power plant? You are looking at it. Imagine, our own power plant.
None of the structures or pond exists today.
These buildings were located on Harmon Road just north of where Poplar Street connects to Harmon.
Or, a better description might be that the Steinmetz soccer field complex now sits on this site. In the early 1950s Bluffton relinquished the ability to create its own power - it was coal driven - selling out to what is today AEP. The water tower served the entire community.
One story goes that the water pressure was near non-existant on the third floor of Lincoln Hall, then a men's residence hall at Bluffton College. The top floor of Lincoln might have been higher than the water tower.
Stories Posted This Week
Monday, August 31, 2026
Sunday, August 30, 2026
- Vickie Diane Little was a registered nurse
- Nancy Ann Wheeler Andrews worked for First Federal Savings and Loan
- Donor generosity powers Bluffton U technology upgrade
- Pirates girls soccer blanked by Sylvania
- Pirate volleyball drops 2 in close tri-match
- Pirate cross country opens Fall 2026 at DSJ Invite
- Back to School Days at Bluffton Public Library
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Friday, August 28, 2026
Thursday, August 27, 2026
- One seriously injured in Union Township crash
- President Sider introduces Reinvest, Reinvent, Reimagine framework in State of the University
- Bluffton girls tennis loss vs. Wapakoneta
- Pirate volleyball sweeps Rockets
- EMS Chief Noah Babcock is Sept. 1 Bluffton Lions speaker
- Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology): Air pollution and rheumatoid arthritis