Bidwell is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in northwestern Springfield Township, Gallia County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

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, Although unincorporated, it has its own ZIP Code of 45614. Bidwell is located eleven miles from the county seat,

Gallipolis Gallipolis ( ) is a village in Gallia County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about southeast of Chillicothe and northwest of Charleston, West Virginia. The population was 3,313 ...

. It is at an elevation of 735 feet. 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

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'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 Gallia County, 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 ...

, a

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grocery store, and the other containing a

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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, Gallia County, Ohio, Springfield Township with a Gallipolis, Ohio, Gallipolis, Ohio (United States, USA) mai ...

. Two of the district's schools are located in the community. River Valley Middle School is a sixth to eighth grade school, and has an enrollment of approximately 400 students. Elementary students from Bidwell attend Vinton Elementary School. 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

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. 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 respo ...

. 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