Rochester Square Historic District

The village of Bethlehem was laid out while Stark was j'et a part of Columliiana (!ounty. The original village plat maj* be seen at the county seat of that county. Calcutta was laid out as stated above, in 1819. though the plat thereof does not appear on the i-ecords at Canton. One of two things must be true : either the record of the plat has been lost or destroyed, or the plat was not properly recorded. When the Ohio Canal was built through the township and opened, Bethlehem was re-enforced by population and prosperity. By 1830, there were some twenty dwellings. H. & I). Allman opened a store there in about the year 1828, and had a stock of goods worth probably $4,000. In October, 1833, Nathan JMc(irew laid out thirtysix lots on fractional Section 5, about three hundred yards west of Bethlehem, along the bank of the river, and named the village thus begun Rochester. He immediately ottered the lots for sale, but Bethlehem proved a formidable rival, and he did not succeed very well. In March, 1834, James Duncan laid out nineteen lots on the bank of the canal between Rochester and Bethlehem, and named this village Navarre. The reason for the projection of new villages so near together and so near Bethlehem is not very clear. The latter village was so situated that quite a steep bluff' was between it and the canal. This rendered the shipment of all kinds of productions a troublesome matter, as buildings could not be located on the bank, and, even if they could, teams could not approach to unload grain. And besides this, there was considerable fun thrown at the village on account of its inactivity in the management of the grain trade. People seemed afraid to locate there, and men with capital moved on to localities which pleased them better. This state of things continued until a few years after the opening of the canal, or until the other villages were laid out. Mr. McGrew laid out Rochester on the bank of the canal. I)ut there the approaches were unfavorable to the rapid handling of grain. These facts led Mr. Duncan to lay out Navarre. The Massillon Rolling Mill Company was in existence at that time, and had considerable capital at its command. This was partly invested in land. Mr. Duncan was a member of the company, and was authorized to [)urchase the land upon which the village of Navan-e now stands. This he did. He also laid out the village with the intention of building his up at the expense of the other two. His plan, owing to the imperfect location of the other villages as regards the canal, and the jealousy that had sprung up between them, was in a measure successful. The Allraan Brothers, who were then keeping store in Bethlehem and doing a general warehouse business, wei'e induced to transfer their interests to the new village of Rochester. This movement met with opposition from the Bethlehemites who at first endeavored to persuade them to remain, but finding this course unavailing they made efforts to kill out Rochester. Duncan built a store building in Navarre, and J. & W. Chapman, who were selling goods in Bethlehem, moved to the former place. The withdrawal of the Ciiapmans and the Allmans from Bethlehem was a serious blow to the expectations of that village. McGrew who had been in business there had left and laid out Rochester. Tiiese men saw that, in view of the growing trade at that point, a better location was not onlj- desiralile but, if extensive business on the canal was to be done, it was neeessarj-. This, among other things, led them to break away from Bethlehem. After they left, G-eorge Pfoiitz o|)ened a store where they had been, and bought grain at the old warehouse they had occupied and deserted. This was about the year 1835. Duncan built at Navarre a grist-mill and a saw-mill, besides other buildings, including several dwellings. In short, he did his best to build up the village he had founded. The saw-mill was soon afterward burned down, but was immediately rebuilt. After a few years, it was again burned down, and was then permitted to remain down. Stump & Fisher opened a store at Bethlehem in about the year 1838. The Allman Brothers, when they went to Rochester, built a storehouse and also a large warehouse. From this time forward there was constant rivalry between the three villages. In each there were merchants who were bujnng large" quantities of grain and produce, and as a necessary consequence each was envious of the prosperity of tlie others, ('lose margins were made in consequence, the merchants endeavoring to undersell each otiier in store goods and over pay each other in the trade in grain. The results are easily guessed. Their business soon languished under this pressure, and when the financial troubles of 1837 came on, the merchants failed and made an assignment of their property. From this time onward almost every man who engaged in buying grain at the villages failed in business. As soon as a man opened a store in either of the villages he must dabble in the speculation in wheat. These men did not profit by the experience of those who had failed before them. They, forsooth, were shrewd enough to foresee the future condition of the markets. And another thing : they would not permit the other buyers to do a more extensive business than themselves ; tliat would not do. The facts are curious, yet this was about the condition of affairs for a number of years. Failure after failure succeetled each other, and still a fresh supply of daring capitalists crowded their way to the front. Among the men who have been in business in the villages are the following : Isaac Hawk, Charles Poe (a descendant of the renowned borderer of that name), p]nos Raffensperger. who with Chapman, in 1845, laid out a large addition to Rochester, Hill & Waldron, Martin & Harris, Brobts & Rudey, R. & J. Sprankle, Davidson & Company, Mr. Wertenbergert, D. Mentzer, Bash, Minor & Company, Goodman, Chapman & Company, J. & M. Bash, Goshorn & Rose, Goshorn & Eckrode, Dennius & Draoenstrod, Zerby & Gorgas, H. V. Beeson & Company, Hall & Companj', Loutzenheiser & Company, Hetzler & Company, Thompson & Baxter, J. & J. \V. Raffensberger, G. H. Cross, and others. Among the present business enterprises are, G. H. Cross, John Weidman, Daniel Metzer, Alexander Garver, G. W. Henline, (xrossklaus & Ricksecker, Gnau & Moog, A. Schmidt, J. Loud, Mrs. Donnovan, milliner, and others.

Passage source: History of Stark County, with an Outline Sketch of Ohio, published 1881.

The first public house of entertainment was kept l)y John ."^halter, on the southwest corner of Third and Market streets. The first one in Navarre was opened by J, Yant, opposite Mr, Sisterhen's shoestore, and was known as " Yant's Hotel.' The building is yet standing. He was succeeded by a Mr. Horton. The " Reed House," known first as the " Navarre House." was built by Richard Goe. The present landlord is B. F. Reed, whose good looks are proverbial, and whose knowledge of horse-flesh is almost infinite, >ren named Wingert and Sprankle kept tavern in Bethlehem at an early day. Since the earliest times, as might have been expected, ri\'alry and jealousy have marked all commercial relations between the villages. Nothing serious has transpired, the rivalry usually confining itself to bitter thoughts.

Passage source: History of Stark County, with an Outline Sketch of Ohio, published 1881.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Bethlehem Township - 358,609 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.