by Sandra Merville Hart

In 1870, the Ohio railroad town of Bradford Junction (now known as Bradford) had a population around 400.

Trains stopped at specific depots for meal stops. These were called eating stations. General S.E. Ogden took over Hoover House and renamed it Ogden Hotel and Restaurant and was one of the eating stations in Bradford Junction. Louie’s Place was another spot where train passengers obtained hot meals.

Farmers or widows often sold fruit or cakes on the platform to passengers not desiring a big, hot meal as a cheaper alternative.

A child or teenager sometimes boarded the train to sell candy, cold drinks, or newspapers. Bradford’s first newspaper, the Railroad Gazette, was no doubt sold to people passing through.

Meal stops were generally twenty minutes only. The conductor entered the eating stations and announced how long diners had before the train departed. If they weren’t on the train, they were left.

In the 1880s, the Miami Hotel charged $1 a day for first-class accommodations.

Private boarding houses offered housing to railroad men. Widows of railroad workers also rented rooms as a way to make income. Men who rented from these families were expected to maintain a respectful manner. He enjoyed clean bed linens and meals with the family. In return, he should maintain cleanliness.

Some men lived in the same boarding house for years, helping to raise the widow’s children. Sometimes boarders attended functions with the landlady and her family. He might purchase a chair for the parlor for his own use.

Bradford Junction is a setting in A Not So Convenient Marriage, Book 1 in my “Second Chances” series, where the heroine works with orphaned twins at the fictitious meal stop, Mrs. Saunders’ Eatery. I invite you to pick up a copy and read it!