Downtown Smithville an interesting blend of old, new
The Smithville Train Depot was part of the Historical Society’s open house on Aug. 15. That event was in conjunction with the Antique Market, Peach Fest and Sayre’s Marketplace’s “It’s Good To Be Home” anniversary.
Editor’s note: This is the second of a series on Wayne County’s villages and smaller towns.
The village of Smithville’s downtown area is an interesting blend.
On the one hand, the village clearly values documenting its history and traditions. Case in point is the extensive historic campus right on Main Street, showcasing 11 buildings and a 1926-era red caboose.
At the same time, Smithville demonstrates a willingness and ability to reinvent themselves to adapt in a rapidly changing environment.
Smithville has been described as appealing to residents because of its public schools and quality of life. The village serves for many as a bedroom community. Many residents find it appealing to work in one of the region’s cities and then return home to Smithville, where they can take advantage of the village’s character and community.
Smithville’s downtown area consists of a small stretch of niche retail and commercial shops right along Route 585. Businesses include a coffee shop, several antique shops, Sayre’s Market, a barber shop, a beautician, a plumber and a financial planner.
“We’re centrally located right on the main thoroughfare. This location is the perfect place to do business. We have open space, places for parking and it’s on the way from Akron. Everyone drives through here,” Carpenter’s Cup owner Sara Hubacher said. Her coffee shop is conveniently located right at the main intersection in Smithville.
In a typical year they get a lot of foot traffic from outside the county and even from outside the state. “When we first opened eight years ago, we got the official Ohio Department of Transportation count — 29,000 cars go through here a day,” Hubacher said.
The Carpenter’s Cup is appropriately named because in addition to serving coffee, tea, smoothies and pastries, the shop also sells furniture.
“My husband is a wood worker. He makes beautiful things that he sells in our shop. He has his own line of Ohio Buckeye wood products. He also has household items like bread slicers, and he makes children’s wooden toys,” Hubacher said.
Despite many positives, the village has been disappointed to lose some businesses in recent years. “The Smithville Inn closed about a year and a half ago, and the owner hasn’t sold it yet. And the old hardware building was sold to a group, but they are sitting on it for now,” said Jeff Carr, the vice president of the Smithville Historical Society. The hardware store is going on four years since it closed.
Carr remembers back to a time when Smithville used to see thousands of people at their festivals. “Probably it was back in the 1960s; 15,000-25,000 people used to attend Smithville fireman’s ox roast. That was run for years. We’d even get Cleveland TV celebrities,” he said.
Times may have changed, but certain aspects of the village’s history live on. Three years ago the 150th anniversary of baseball in Smithville was celebrated, and they currently have 20 players on the roster of their vintage base ball team, the Smithville Stars. Plus, the Smithville Historical Society continues to allow access to the public to their historic buildings with open houses May, July and September on the third Sunday of the month (1:30-4 p.m.) and June, August and October on the third Saturday of the month
(10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
While traditions live on, the village’s downtown area also has evolved. Take Sayre’s Marketplace, opened in 1928 by Samuel Sayre and now run by the fourth generation of the Sayre family. Their focus has changed from a full-service grocery store to a completely different business model. The market does still have a small amount of grocery products. Plus, it is now home of My Busy Day Gourmet (Wayne County’s first meal prep service) and 25 local artisans and houses Bittersweet Antiques.
There are new businesses that have opened in the downtown area as well.
“We recently had the addition of a new store. Pink Tomato — which was an existing business — decided to relocate to Smithville. They purchased the building, and they decided to renovate it rather extensively,” Mayor Tom Poulson said.
Pink Tomato specializes in custom wedding and event invitations, business and branding graphics, special projects, and promotional products.
“Smithville is an attractive location for niche retail. I think a mix of commercial and retail is important for a thriving downtown,” Poulson said. “Plus, Smithville’s Mishler Weaving Mill is just amazing, like stepping back into history. It’s only about two minutes from Carpenter’s Cup. It’s a working part of history. This really is worth seeing yourself.”
When you add in the village events and Smithville’s proximity to the Barn Restaurant complex only a mile south, it paints the picture of a destination worth your drive.