Ransomville was established as a farming community, but some of the earliest businesses were the log taverns built by Gideon Curtiss, the first of which was erected in 1817 and the second in 1825. A cemetery was laid out by 1821, the first interment being Janet Durand, who died at the age of one. In 1840 the Ransomville House was built as a larger, more refined building. In addition to the hotel, an 1860 map of the village lists two doctors and two blacksmiths, as well as a bootmaker, carriage maker, harness maker, grocer, lumber mill and general merchandise store.