Early post card photo of Ada's railroad park
When you drive through Ada you can't miss the railroad depot park.
The park has a long history in the community. Here's one of the earliest photos of the park. This is a colorized post card from the collection of Lee Crouse. According to Jimmy Wilson, the Civil War cannon is aimed toward Fort Sumter, South Carolina, where the war erupted on April 12, 1861.
According to Crouse: "The girl on the bench at the railroad park was Alice W. Gessaman-Cotner born May 23, 1910, and died in Bluffton May 18, 2004.
Notice a couple interesting features of this photo:
• The unknown photographer took the photo when a passenger train was at the depot
• It's quite likely that the four people - two men and a woman and girl - may be models, posed for the photo
• The trees in the photo are fairly mature. Based upon known birthday of the young girl, this photo from the mid-1910 era. So, the trees could have been planted around the time that the cannon was put in place.
• Notice the top of the building on the northside of the train. It is still there today.
• The depot appear identical in the photo as it does today.
Stories Posted This Week
Friday, September 25, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, September 25
- Clay, community, and the classroom
- September 25 Bluffton Schools athletics lineup, streaming
- Pirate volleyball loss vs. Crestview
- Pirate girls soccer win vs. Allen East
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- New time for Planning and Bluffton Beyond Tomorrow meetings, Sept 29
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- Fall Festival activities are all over Bluffton, Sept. 26
Thursday, September 24, 2026
- Marilyn Florence (Brunn) Osting, 94, was a nurse
- Paul Richard Wingate Jr., 79, worked for the Lima Ford Engine Plant
- Ada Icon headlines, Sept. 24
- Roundabouts celebrated for crash reduction
- Scarecrow competition for Bluffton businesses
- Hello, Goodbye: Diphenhydramine for allergies
- 5th Annual MHCO Gala will Roll Out the Red Carpet
- Funeral notice for Mary Louise Reddick
- ODNR urges caution during fall wildfire season
- Nursing student to share clinical research at First Tuesday in the Library
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
- Chamber members take a lesson from Jacomet's Martial Arts
- Proud of your pie? Sept. 26 apple pie baking contest
- Save November 6-7 for Holiday Open House
- Friends of the Library book sale, Sept. 24-26
- Pirate girls golf places 6th at sectionals
- Pirate volleyball outlasts Grove
- Bluffton tennis wins on consecutive nights
- Pirate boys soccer edged by Liberty Center