Bidwell is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northwestern Springfield Township,

Gallia County Gallia County (pronunciation: ''GAL-yuh'') is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,220. Its county seat is Gallipolis. Named after the French people who originally settled there, its name � ...

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, and is often associated with the nearby community of Porter. Although unincorporated, it has its own ZIP Code of 45614. Bidwell is located eleven miles from the county seat,

Gallipolis Gallipolis ( ) is a chartered village (United States)#Ohio, village in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Gallia County, Ohio, Gallia County. The municipality is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about 55 miles southeast of ...

, at an elevation of 682 feet (208 m). Bidwell is part of the Point Pleasant, WV–OH Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The community of Bidwell was founded in 1881 under the name Blaccock, after the arrival of the Crispus Attucks, Hocking Valley, and Toledo Railroad. Charles Heatly (1809-1888) owned the property where the new station was located. His home still stands nearby. Porter Station was built in Heatly as a means of transportation of passengers and freight, which led to its later expansion and the source of the name of the neighboring village of Porter. ''Circa'' 1900, Heatly changed its name to Bidwell in honor of John Bidwell, the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

's presidential candidate in 1892. The village expanded in the early 20th century, eventually including several mills and stores. The railroad tracks have since been decommissioned and turned into a bicycle path that spans much of

, but the former site of the station itself is commemorated by an Ohio historical marker.

Government

As Bidwell is unincorporated without official local government or charter, local government in the township is the responsibility of Springfield Township Trustees.

Local life

The Bidwell area contains two shopping centers, one containing a

hardware store Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing suppli ...

, a Save-A-Lot grocery store, and the other containing a

Dollar General Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of April 11, 2022, Dollar General operates 18,216 stores in the continental United States. The company began in 1939 as a family-own ...

store. One restaurant serves the community, the Korner Restaurant. There are no lodging or other accommodations in Bidwell. Public education in Bidwell is provided by the

Gallia County Local School District The Gallia County Local School District is a public school district headquartered in an unincorporated portion of Springfield Township with a Gallipolis, Ohio (USA) mailing address. It is one of two public school districts in Gallia County. Th ...

. Two of the district's schools are located in the community.

River Valley Middle School A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

is a sixth to eighth grade school, and has an enrollment of approximately 400 students. Elementary students from Bidwell attend

Vinton Elementary School Vinton may refer to: Places in the United States *Vinton, California *Fort Vinton, Florida *Vinton, Iowa * Vinton, Kansas *Vinton, Louisiana * Vinton, Missouri * Vinton, Nebraska, a ghost town in Valley County, Nebraska * Vinton Township, Nebraska ...

. There is also a high school in the area, River Valley High School, which is located behind the middle school. The high school serves students from across the northern half of Gallia County, including the communities of Vinton and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. The Bidwell area does not have a police force of its own, and is instead patrolled by the Gallia County Sheriff's Department. However, local fire protection is provided by the Springfield Township

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond t ...

. Most funding for the station is received from tax levies.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Ohio Unincorporated communities in Gallia County, Ohio Point Pleasant micropolitan area