VILLAGES OF BLOOM TOWNSHIP: Bairdstown was platted by John S. Baird, on ground that he owned, and the plat was recorded in October, 1874. From April 1876, to February, 1877, thirty eight frame houses and two of brick were erected in the village, and G.W. Ogdens general store and John Bairds hotel were two of the earliest businesses to occupy Bairdstown. The village of Bairdstown was incorporated August 16, 1881, on a petition submitted by sixty-one inhabitants that had been filed on June 8, of that same year. Levi Kistler was elected the first mayor, and A.B. Frankfather was elected the first marshal of Bairdstown. The village Post Office was established in 1873, with M.G. Heaton and Benton Leathers sharing the duties of Postmaster. The receipts from stamps, money orders, and registered mail amounted to almost $300 annually. By the year 1890, Bairdstown had grown by leaps and bounds, and the village had really flourished, but in July of that year the village was plagued with a series of fires. There was much talk be the village residents, that the fires were the result of a supposed curse that James Slater had put upon the land the village occupied, and all persons that were involved in any way with causing Mr. Slater to lose his farm to a Sheriffs sale. The cure was directed to John Baird in particular, as he was the one that obtained the land that Mr. Slater was forced to forfeit. The first fire occurred on July 8, 1890, and it destroyed the Hearsts Saloon as well as his dwelling, along with the store of Briggs & Jones. The second fire took place nine days later on July 17, 1890, and it destroyed the Hearson and Grimes Drug Store. Another nine days later, another fire took place on July 26, and the entire Ogden Block was destroyed. Two days later, the fourth fire occurred on July 28, and destroyed four barns. By that time, James Slaters curse was the topic of conversation of all of Wood County, and most of Hancock County. There was a train wreck on the B&O Railroad at Bairdstown on Valentines Day, 1890, that resulted in the deaths of several human beings. There was also a hold-up on December 7, 1894, that resulted in the deaths of two men and the wounding of another, all of whom were from Auburn, Indiana. The three men had been riding the railroad eastward in search of work, and four men entered their car demanding money, and then opened fire. The United Brethren Sharon Church in Bairdstown adopted the articles of association, and the church was dedicated July 22, 1877. After the series of fires and the set back of several of Bairdstowns businessmen, the village began to stagnate. At one time, Bairdstown was larger than Bloomdale, but many county residents felt that James Slaters curse was the cause of Bairdstowns demise as a prospering community. There are no business enterprises within the corporation limits of Bairdstown today, and the Bairdstown School has been gone for years, but the church continues to serve the community, and it seems to be holding its own. (NOTE:) Some publications suggest that Josiah J. Baird was the one responsible for the founding of Bairdstown, but this is not quite so. Wood County records show that John S. Baird owned the land, and that he was the one that platted the village of Bairdtown and gave it his name. Josiah J. Baird was John S. Bairds second oldest son, and he worked in a stave factory at Bairdstown. Josiah and his wife Lourinda, along with three of their children are buried at Bloom Chapel Cemetery. After Bairdstown began to flounder at the end of 1890, all three of John S. Bairds sons cut their ties with their father, and when John S. Baird later passed away in Mahoning County, Ohio, not one of his surviving children attended his funeral.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 10:11:15 +0000
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