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By Paula Pyzik Scott
On Saturday, August 9, the 3rd annual Bluffton History Day was celebrated by the Bluffton Ohio Historical Society (BOHS) at the 1899 Depot at 405 N. Spring St. BOHS used the event to remind guests of how the Bluffton Sportsmen’s Club moved the depot from Railroad St., rehabilitated the building and has lovingly cared for it since the late 1980s.
There was a ceremonial handing over of a large skeleton key from the Sportsmen to BOHS, with Mike Zimmerman and Ron Epp representing the two organizations. The 1899 depot building remains the home of the club, with its headquarters in the basement, and the meeting place for American Legion Post 382 and Bluffton Boy Scouts. It is also available for rentals.
The articles feature Steiner's knowledge of locomotives, excursion trains, trolley service to Lima and Findlay, railroad accidents and more. Steiner's collection of photographs span the late 1800s to his own images from the 2000s.
UPDATE: Link below is fixed. This is perhaps the most mysterious photo among eight selected by the Bluffton Ohio Historical Society for the Reframing Bluffton History Art Contest. The image of men digging around railroad tracks is undated and the location is unknown. For more information on the photographs and competition (deadline July 31), visit BlufftonForever.com HERE.
Bluffton Ohio Historical Society wants to save Rudolf Althaus general store
By Paula Pyzik Scott
On May 21, Bluffton historian and Icon founder Fred Steiner returned to his hometown to provide a program on the Althaus-Amstutz-Hahn-Steiner family, drawing a full house to the Bluffton Public Library lower level. The presentation was conversational and pictorial: he provided dozens of images of the people, places and artifacts in his story.
This article is a work in progress and a collaboration. The Bluffton Ohio Historical Society is seeking information about these eight photos, which are inspiration for the upcoming Reimagining Bluffton's History art contest, with entries to be submitted in July 2025.
That sound was the Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965, tornado.
At 9:45 p.m., it ripped across the rural Richland and Orange Township landscape. It was like no other natural disaster experienced prior or since then in this community.
Had the tornado’s path been one mile north it would have struck the Village of Bluffton. Had it been 600 feet farther north it would have hit 32 planes parked at the Bluffton Airport.
