Historic Reflection: 1909 Montpelier Ohio’s Broad Street

This vintage colorized postcard view, postmarked in 1909, was taken looking south on Montpelier’s Broad street from Wayne Street. On the left is St. Paul’s Methodist Church. In 1891, the St. Paul’s congregation broke ground for this brick church, which was formally dedicated on May 8, 1892. The 68- by 68-foot church was designed to seat 550 worshippers and cost approximately $9,000. The tall cylindrical object in the distance is the municipal water plant standpipe, completed in 1896. In 1895, the Montpelier Enterprise newspaper reported, “The standpipe will be 12 feet in diameter, 100 feet high, built of best boiler steel, resting on a concrete foundation eight feet thick.” Note the early streetlight suspended at the intersection of Broad and Wayne streets. This vintage image is from the Kevin Maynard collection.