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Historical Ada

Ada merchants 100+ years ago

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Did you ever wonder who some of Ada's business owners were 100 years ago? Here's an answer. Here are photos of 15 of those business owners.

Businesses included an art studio, bookstore, clothing store, tailor, newspaper, coal dealer, photographer, millinery owner, barber, clothier, furniture dealer and a bicycle repair shop.

 

An Ada "Decoration Day"

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Memorial Day was once known as "Decoration Day." Here's  a photograph depicting an Ada Decoration Day at the turn of an earlier century. 

Ohio Normal School

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Here's one of the earliest photos of Ada. It is of Ohio Northern University - but shows the university when it was called The Northwestern Ohio Normal School. The building today faces Main Street. This is from a booklet of photos titled "Ada and the O.N.U. - The New and the Old." The booklet was printed in 1902 and the wording under this photo stated "taken a long time ago."

Main Street in 1902

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Here's another photo from the Ada railroad depot. This scene looks west. Photo taken in 1902.

Meet you at the station

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Before there was a Dixie Highway...before there was a Lincoln Highway...before there was a State Route 235...railroads were the way to travel.

Here's a 1902 photograph of Ada's Pennsylvania Railroad depot. The line connected New York City and Chicago with very fast service. Depending upon your point of view, not much or, quite a bit has change in 110 years.

(Photo from "Ada and the O.N.U. - The new and the old".)

Ohio Normal University 1902

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Once upon a time it was called the Ohio Normal University. Here's a photograph from 1902 of an eariler "ONU." The photo is from a 1902 booklet of photos titled "Ada and the O.N.U. - The New and the Old."

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