A Collection Of Small Towns...
1961 Description of Alpha - Mr. John Harbine and Mr. Needles laid out the town of Alpha in 1854. When what is now the Pennsylvania railroad was built, Mr. Harbine gave land required and the station was named Harbine. It was a lively manufacturing center with its distillery, flour, cotton, woolen, grist, saw and oil mills, and did a large tobacco, grain, and shipping business to all parts of the country. From the first mill and the first barrel of flour which was marked "Alpha" the name has clung to the place. There are in the town a nice brick church, a school, a post office, coal office, two stores and at upper Alpha a K of P Hall, a blacksmith shop and Beavercreek Township High School built in 1888. The waters of Beaver Creek have turned the wheels of grist mills for more than a century and the old dam and old covered bridge torn down recently is an attractive place for picnics, fishing and swimming parties, but the block houses, mills, and store houses are no longer to be seen and the valley is peaceful, productive and beautiful.
Present Day - Alpha really became the hub of activity in Beavercreek Township. With its numerous mills and famous “panhandle” railroad lines running through town, industry was thriving for over 100 years! John Harbine (pictured, sometimes spelled Harbein) wasn’t the first businessman to prosper in Alpha, but he was the first to genuinely industrialize the town and literally had his hand in most aspects of business in the town including the original surveying and parceling. Mr. Harbine’s businesses included a saw mill, grist mill, flouring mill, an oil mill, and even a distillery! More on this later…
Throughout this work you’ll learn of Alpha’s memorable residents: Dr. Anderson, the town blacksmith - Charley Johannes, the General Store keeper – Mr. Needles, and even a notable villain named Justice! Alpha retains a great sense of pride with its own museum, grain elevator and the best post office in the county!
https://beavercreekliving.com/book/item/9-book-three#sigProIde1bc1f7bd0
