The interstate cut through the middle of his great-grandpa's farm, by where BT&D is. On forty acres, the government seized fourteen. Darrick asked for documentation; Jared has none and said he would check with Aunt Pat.
— Jared Niese
Community history
When I-74 Came Through Batesville
A 1962 aerial, fourteen acres of one family's farm, and the four-way stop that used to be there.
Photos
Photos of this place.
The story so far
What happened here.
The photo is an aerial from 1962–63, handwritten 'BUILT 1962–1963' along the bottom: a cleared corridor cutting diagonally across farmland, earth-moving equipment on the graded roadway, and below it a cluster of farm buildings — a white barn, outbuildings, a house — beside the old two-lane road.
The interstate did not pass through empty ground. It cut through the middle of one family's farm by where BT&D is today — fourteen of forty acres, taken by the government. The farm is where the BP station is now. Neighbors in the comments are still sorting out which side it sits on, and whether the family was paid or moved by eminent domain.
Timeline
How it changed hands.
1962–1963
I-74 built through Batesville.
Undated, before the interstate
The crossing in the photo was a four-way stop.
Undated
The government takes 14 of 40 acres of the Niese family's farm by where BT&D is.
What neighbors remember
According to the locals who lived it.
That's sad — it used to be a four-way stop.
— Greg Fullenkamp
The meat-processing plant in the frame became Hellmich Standard — his dad told him so; the plant's earlier name is forgotten now. (That settles Robert Linville's guess of Benz's Meat Market.)
— Stephen Macke
The house on the near side of the photo was a Hunteman house. It stood until the CVS was built.
— Sam Wintz
Remembers an old slaughterhouse out by the I-74 Cincinnati entrance ramp — a huge wooden warehouse for livestock.
— Marc Young
Still to learn
Open questions.
- Were the Niese family paid for the acreage, or moved by eminent domain? (Ken Salyer asked; no answer yet. Jared is checking with Aunt Pat for documentation.)
- Was it the Norman Wessels farm? Rita Moll Paul guessed so — unverified.
- Which intersection was the four-way stop?
- Jared Niese's photo of the Niese cousins on the hill across BT&D, circa mid-1950s, is in his reply thread — it still needs to be added to the page.
See also
Connected pieces.
Do you remember this place?
Share a memory, a photo, or a correction — or answer one of the open questions above. Submissions are reviewed by a person before anything appears publicly, and nothing is posted as-is. Photos are used only with your permission and with credit as you give it.
Last updated November 13, 2026. New memories appear here after review.