Bidwell

The village of Bidwell, once known as Heatly, was surveyed in 1881 after the arrival of the Columbus, Hocking Valley, and Toledo Railroad. A depot (Porter Station) was soon built on this site for passenger and freight service. By 1900, Heatly was renamed Bidwell, in honor of John Bidwell of California, a Prohibitionist candidate running for the United States presidency. By 1906, a thriving railroad business, coupled with the efforts of J.K. Powell, Charles Heatly, and E.T. Morrison, caused land speculation to boom. The village soon included the Powell Tile Factory, the Morrison General Store, the Heatly housing addition, a post office (1881), a two-room school, a Methodist Church (1892), Mt. Carmel Baptist Church (1903), (Continued)

[Side B]: (Continued from other side) Bidwell-Porter High School (1902), flour mill, hotel, and bank. A primary factor affecting Bidwell’s prominence throughout the area was the railroad. The Bidwell Bean Dinner and the Emancipation Proclamation Celebration were held each year in nearby Bush’s Park. For many years, special excursion trains arrived from Columbus bringing hundreds of visitors to these events. These signs of progress declined when on December 31, 1949, railroad passenger service ended to Bidwell and other towns along the route.