Feed and Grain On Heart of Ohio Trail Preserves Centerburg’s Agricultural Legacy
The arrival of the Cleveland, Akron and Columbus (CA&C) Railroad in Centerburg in 1873 brought many business opportunities for the fledgling Ohio community—not only in the immediate area of the tracks, but also for uptown, as new manufacturing businesses developed, and hotels, restaurants, hack services and liveries prepared for travelers and freight.
The building that stands at 108 N. Hartford Ave. was built in 1899 for the Alsdorf–Pearson Company on lots 96 and 97 in Centerburg just a few blocks from Main Street. The marker is located at the former location of the CA&C depot (moved in 1983). From 1900 until 1908, the building operated as a livestock feed and grain mill under J.R. Alsdorf & Son. In November 1908, Aldorf & Son sold the mill to TD Updike for $4,000 (about $133,000 in 2023). It continued as a feed and grain mill under H.W. Updike and Sons until 1961, when it sold to Griffith’s Farm Service.
Over the decades, advancements in seeds, as well as in agricultural practices and equipment, increased the production of grains, and the Griffith business experienced growth, including the addition of the large grain bins, which can be seen to the right of the mill. Then in 1983 another change occurred—after 110 years of rail service, the declining CA&C railroad stopped service altogether. A major shift to a way of life.
Griffith sold the mill in 1989 to local business owner and civic leader Greg Sands, who eventually downsized the operations—selling the grain bins and other property—before relocating his feed and grain business. Then in 1999, H B Property Management bought the building in 1999, changing its use from milling and animal feed to a host of the storefront restaurants and businesses that exist today as the Centerburg Mill & General Store.
In 2000, a small core of Centerburg community folks had a vision for a rail-trail through the geographical Heart of Ohio, again to encourage business development, and the former C&AC corridor was transformed into the 17-mile Heart of Ohio Trail, stretching from west of Centerburg to Mount Vernon in Knox County.
The businesses at 108 N. Hartford Ave. now serve many trail users along the Heart of Ohio Trail, 326-mile developing Ohio to Erie Trail connecting Cleveland and Cincinnati, and the Great American Rail-Trail®. Learn more about the Heart of Ohio Trail on TrailLink™.
Special thanks to Gloria Parsisson, Knox County Historical Society/Park District.
This article was developed as part of Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Great American Rail-Trail® historical marker program—launched in partnership with the William G. Pomeroy Foundation to lift hidden histories and points of local pride along the 3,700-mile developing route connecting Washington State and Washington, D.C.
A trailside marker, created through a collaboration by the Heart of Ohio Trail Inc., the Knox County Commissioners, the Knox County Historical Society, Rails to Trails Conservancy and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, now commemorates the depot and museum, home to the Center Point Community Historical Society.
Marker Location: 108 N. Hartford Ave., Centerburg, OH
FEED & GRAIN MILL
BUILT IN 1899 FOR
ALSDORF-PEARSON COMPANY.
SERVED CENTERBURG FARMING
COMMUNITY UNTIL CA. 2000.
LOCATED ACROSS THE ROAD.
HEART OF OHIO TRAIL
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2023
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