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History · Buchtel

Buchtel’s post office opened in 1879, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1850 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Buchtel’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Buchtel began

When was Buchtel founded?

1879

The Buchtel post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bessemer (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 518147 years
Founding year: the first Buchtel post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
The story

How Buchtel came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Buchtel.

Read it all →

Buchtel was laid out in 1876, and named for John R. Buchtel, a representative of the Akron Iron Company, which owned a large amount of land in the vicinity, included within the Hocking Valley. A post office called Buchtel has been in operation since 1879.

The village was developed to support coal mining in the area. In 1884, mine workers in Buchtel went out on strike, and the company hired Pinkerton guards to protect replacement workers, known as strikebreakers or "Blacklegs". Such workers were strongly resisted by union workers, and strikes were often accompanied by violence.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Buchtel, 1850 to 1933

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-35, ED 5-36, …
  3. 1877Post officeThe Bessemer post office opens
  4. 1879Post officeThe Bessemer post office closes
  5. 1879Post officeThe Buchtel post office opens
  6. 1882In the archiveTown of Buchtel with view of Iron Ore Factory, Athens County, Ohio, 1882 - DPLA - 3a871a1…
  7. 20th century
  8. 1909In the archiveStratton Bros. Store exterior, Buchtel, Athens County, Ohio, 1909 - DPLA - 83c69b8a051b1e…
  9. 1915Born hereDick Kimble is born here
  10. 1933Born hereRoy Wright is born here
By decade

Buchtel, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1880s5 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-35, ED 5-36, ED 5-37, ED 5-3818501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio …Town of Buchtel with view of Iron Ore Factory, Athens County, Ohio, 1882 - DPLA - 3a871a110bf85ecf91be165e2312b6cc1882Town of Buchtel with view of Iron Ore Factory, Athens…Ohio - the mining troubles in Hocking Valley - scene in the town of Buchtel - the striking miners' reception of "Blackl…1884Ohio - the mining troubles in Hocking Valley - scene …Ohio - the mining troubles in Hocking Valley - tent life of the striking miners-The distribution of relief to the unemp…1884Ohio - the mining troubles in Hocking Valley - tent l…Pinkerton escorts hocking valley leslies1884Pinkerton escorts hocking valley leslies
1900s1 item
Stratton Bros. Store exterior, Buchtel, Athens County, Ohio, 1909 - DPLA - 83c69b8a051b1e9718af600ca1be010a1909Stratton Bros. Store exterior, Buchtel, Athens County…
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-35, ED 5-36, ED 5-37, ED 5-38
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-35, ED 5-36, ED 5-37, ED 5-38, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Buchtel’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Buchtel

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
R
Roy WrightAmerican baseball player · b. 1933
D
Dick KimbleMajor League Baseball shortstop · b. 1915
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Buchtel’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, Bessemer, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bessemer
1877–1879
Buchtel
1879–today
18701950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Buchtel’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Nelsonville3 historic placesA+York Township3 historic placesA+Ward TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Buchtel’s history

What year was Buchtel founded?

The Buchtel post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.