While Chillicothe was the main road of the day, three secondary roads were built-one going to Solon, one to Chagrin, and the third to Auburn. Main-Market Street, now East Washington, was the main route from Cleveland to Youngstown. At the time it was ten feet wide and paved with brick from Chagrin Falls to McFarland’s Corners. Beyond Auburn, it was an impassible dirt road until it was paved after World War I. The paving of the road made it the main route, attracting businesses and diverted traffic from the center of Bainbridge.
In the 1800s, commercial endeavors flourished in Bainbridge. Five cheese factories, a woolen mill, rake factory, brickyard, gristmills, and tannery were some of the more successful accomplishments. A number of the plants were located along Crackel Road, creating Centerville Mills. Chillicothe Road in Bainbridge Center also thrived with an assortment of blacksmith shops, sawmill, cheese box factory, and various stores.
The Old Bainbridge Store, once a familiar landmark at the corner of Chillicothe and Bainbridge Roads, was built about 1846 and was the last of the general stores in the township. It can now be seen at the Geauga County Historical Society’s Century Village in Burton.