Bluffton’s “Golden Age,” covering a period from approximately 1886 to 1900, is a program presented by Fred Steiner at 6:00 p.m. onTuesday, April 25 at the Bluffton Public Library.
“Bluffton was a boom town during these years,” says Steiner, who will show photographs and share stories from this era during the program.
Several significant developments occurred in Bluffton, which rival any 15-year period in the town’s history.
• Oil and natural gas discovered in Findlay, Bluffton’s first oil well drilled in 1890
• Business district, offered wide selection of products and services
• A dozen saloons operated here
• Town hall built in 1887
• Water plant in service in 1896
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• Municipal power plant in service in 1897
• Telephone arrived in 1898
• Central Mennonite College opened in 1889
• Population in 1900 was 1,783; 50 years earlier the town has 12 families
• Northern Ohio Railway provided passenger and freight service
• Lake Erie and Western Railroad provided passenger and freight service
• Bluffton was one of the largest shipping points for dressed poultry in the United States, according to a news item in the Bluffton News.
The program is free and open to the public. The library is at 145 S. Main St. The library suggests that attendees RSVP at 419-358-5016.
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PHOTO: A group of Bluffton young people in the 1890s.
