Rosedale, Ohio

The Rosedale Post Office was established on June 3, 1830,[4] with Captain Andrews as the first postmaster.[5] In 1832, he purchased 1,300 acres (530 ha) of land, named the place "Rosedale Farms" after the post office, and opened a store at the intersection of Rosedale Road and Rosedale-Milford Center Road.[5] Later, Darius Burnham laid out the community of Liverpool on land he owned near Rosedale, and the plat was recorded on May 18, 1836, in London.[5] From 1837 to 1838, Foster Griffin became the postmaster and moved the post office from the rural country into Liverpool.[5] Soon after, the community changed its name to match the post office. The Rosedale Post Office was discontinued on October 14, 1867, re-established on January 17, 1870, then discontinued again on September 30, 1901.[4] The mail service was then sent through the Mechanicsburg branch. In 1905, the Pike township high school was built in the community, at a cost of $12,000.[5] As of 1915, the community contained one general store, one blacksmith, and a population of 60.[5]

In 1964 Conservative Mennonite Bible School, a Bible college owned by the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference, purchased the former high school building and moved from its location in Berlin, Ohio.[6] In the mid 1960s the Conservative Mennonite Conference moved its conference headquarters to the community.[7]

The elevation is 997 feet (303 meters) above sea level.[1] The community is located between the Spring Fork and main channel of the Little Darby Creek to the northwest of their confluence. This puts the community on the western edge of the Scioto Watershed.[8] The area was originally a wetland of prairie grass and moisture tolerant trees, and now boasts rich and productive farmland of primarily soy beans, corn and wheat.

The town is the home of the denomination-wide agencies of the Conservative Mennonite Conference, including Rosedale Bible College, Rosedale Mennonite Missions, Choice Books Great Lakes-Rosedale, and the administrative offices of the Conservative Mennonite Conference. Nearly half of the town's residents are affiliated or employed by these agencies with the majority of other citizens involved in agriculture. Rosedale has one church, the Rosedale Free Will Baptist Church.