The story of Farmerstown starts on May 14, 1827, when William Mefendish plotted a small town with 35 lots that were owned by co-founders George and Abraham Deetz. Originally designed to have only two crossing streets, Main Street and Market Street, the town was given the name Farmersville. From that day the small town quickly grew into a major hub in the area with farmers coming from miles around to sell livestock and buy goods. By 1866 Farmersville had grown so large that a post office became necessary.
Emmanuel Yoder is something of an expert on the history of Farmerstown. Hes lived in the area for many years, collecting stories and historical documents relevant to Farmerstown, which he plans to turn into a book within the next five years. When asked about the story behind the towns name, he said, They [the towns leadership] checked with the State of Ohio for town names and found that there was another Farmersville up in the northern part of this state. They had to rename this town, so they renamed it Farmerstown.
Interestingly that isnt the only name change that the area has been through. Farmerstown is situated in Clark Township, which used to be called German Township. As World War I started, the German name was so bad that they changed the name to Clark Township, Yoder said.
Throughout the years Farmerstown has had several notable businesses including a blacksmith shop, shoe shop, harness shop, cooper shop and crockery store. One of todays most prominent businesses is the Farmerstown Auction, which began in 1933, founded by Ben Beachy, Vic Lahm, John Raber, John Schlabach and Dave Miller. Originally there had been an auction house in Berlin, but the Berlin Auction closed its doors, so with farmers in need of a place to sell their livestock, Farmerstown became the new place to hold auctions.
According to Yoder, the first auctions were held behind the towns general store. The auction grew, and in the 1940s construction of a permanent sale building began on todays auction site. At one time, possibly 25 years ago, it was one of the largest pig markets in Ohio, he said.
Also of note is the former Farmerstown Cheese Factory, which closed its doors in 2001. Prior to that the factory was a major Farmerstown landmark. Although the origins of the cheese factory are unclear to historians, John Jorg, township trustee and former owner of the factory, knows that this facilitys history dates back to at least 1938 and almost certainly farther.
I know that in 1938 there was a cheese maker that was killed, Jorg said. The separator exploded and scrap metal hit him.
The oldest business in Farmerstown is likely the Farmerstown General Store, which was first opened in 1855 by John Hostetler. Since that time Farmerstown has not been without a general store. Kendrick Stutzman, grandson of the stores owners and employee at the General Store, confirms this.
Its still the same store, the same business thats been running all of these years.
The General Store changed ownership multiple times over the years with each new owner bringing something unique to the store. It is thought that George Smith, who bought the Farmerstown General Store in 1869, had a major hand in ensuring the stores longevity.
Smith, in order to expand business, became a sales agent for machinery, selling high-demand items like sewing machines and farm equipment including the Champion Reaper, which was a must-have harvester that farmers in the area relied on to bring in their crops. Because there were few other places to buy machinery, this boosted Farmerstown even further, turning it into one of the largest trading centers in the area.
Today Farmerstown is no longer one of the largest towns in the area, but the historic businesses that were responsible for putting this town on the map are still thriving.
With the Farmerstown Auction, the General Store and several other country stores, plus a few historic buildings such as the Township House, a trip to this town is the closest youll get to traveling back in time.
