Ghost Towns of Ohio

Ghost Towns of Delaware County [2006] Currently Ohio's "fastest-growing" county, Delaware is on the fast track to annexation by its neighbor to the south, Columbus. Towns like Powell and Lewis Center are already considered part of the city, and Columbus's newest mall, Polaris Fashion Place, was built in Delaware County without a second thought. All of which means that many of the various small towns which haven't already died a natural death are in danger of disappearing beneath the new suburban sprawl. The tireless research of Larry Durica was absolutely essential in completing this section; his work in collecting Delaware County ghost towns was profiled in a recent Delaware Gazette article. He credits the works cited at the foot of this page, as well as Troy Township historian Judy Burdette. (Found on ForgottenOhio.com which no longer exists. This version formatted and saved by SBS at Delaware County Regional Planning Commission in 2006.) Africa Orange Twp. Grew up on the Columbus-Sandusky Pike, but now located at the huge three-way intersection of Lewis Center Road, Big Walnut Road, and Africa Road. Also known as East Orange. How the town came to be known as Africa (Africa PO operated 1884-1906) is not known, but it's thought that it comes from either the large number of blacks who settled here after the Civil War, or East Orange's status as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Bejamin Hanby, the well-known central Ohio pioneer, is said to have used a false- bottomed wagon to transport runaways here. Alum Creek Berlin Twp. This town was half drowned by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1960s when the creek was dammed and turned into the current lake and reservoir. From 1838 until 1899 the post office was in operation, while around it a small town with a mill, general store, and Pee Wee Church (that's really its name) grew. At the turn of the century a dance hall was built there, and later, a restaurant/gas station called Terrace Gardens opened up. It was still operating in the 1930s. Today the mill foundation is under the reservoir, but the building which once housed Pee Wee Church can still be seen. Bellepoint Concord Twp. It was once known as Belle Point and is now just Bellpoint, located at SR 257 and Mills Road north of US 42. It's so nearly a ghost town that it warrants inclusion on this list. Belle Point's post office designation lasted just one year, 1836-37, and Bellepoint's didn't do much longer: 1893-1907. Today the mail comes through Delaware. Bellepoint once had two blacksmiths, two doctors, even a car dealership in the later years. Church and school were both held in a granary until a church was built in 1872 at a cost of $2,600. But the settlement got its start when James Kooken was suckered into a speculation deal on a square plot of land on the Scioto River, several miles north of Columbus. The plan was to "slack" the river, damming or spreading it in order to make it flow slower and more evenly for steamboat travel. Unfortunately, he didn't find out about the steep angle of descent the river takes between here and there until after he'd bought his land, and he saw his plots go from $14 an acre to $1.25. Still, Kooken made a go of it; the result of his effort was the village of Bellepoint, which was not a roaring success either. Berkshire Berkshire Twp. This town almost exists today, in the form of about a dozen houses and a single traffic light at the intersection of Route 36/37 and Galena Road. There's also the old town cemetery. It was once a large town of some significance--the first village laid out in what was to become Delaware County. Moses Byxbe formed it from soldiers' land warrants in 1804 as Berkshire Corners. In 1808 Delaware County came into existence with Delaware as the seat, but residents of Berkshire Corners thought it was inevitable that they would move the courthouse to their town. Oddly enough, there was even talk of the possibility of moving the state capitol to Berkshire Corners; after all, it was centrally located, and easily accessible from anywhere. Then founding father Byxbe moved to Delaware and left the town he founded behind. Adonijah Rice operated a tavern and hotel there. In 1840, Berkshire Academy was established as an institution of higher learning; although it only operated for fifteen years, a number of its students were quite accomplished, including a future governor. Berkshire's post office closed in 1902 and the town petered out from there. Berlin Station Berlin Twp. Railroad town known variously as West Berlin, Pershing Station, and Tanktown. Located on Berlin Station Road at the Conrail tracks, west of Gregory Road. It was a railroad station under the name Berlin Station but opening a post office in 1857 forced it to change to the unused name of Tanktown, then in 1884 to West Berlin. In 1860, West Berlin residents could purchase a round trip ticket to Columbus for fifty-five cents. The town had two streets besides Main Street: East Street and West Street. East still exists as a private driveway. A grocery story, sawmill, wagon-maker's shop, church, and schoolhouse once existed in the town, besides the railroad station and watering tank that gave it its names. The post office closed on August 31, 1907, and the grocery stayed in business until 1940. Berlin Berlin Twp. Laid out in 1850 by J. R. Hubbell and Thomas Carney, this town had an aborted existence and was essentially a "paper" ghost town, meaning no one really lived there. The railroad was supposed to come through, but it decided instead to go straight to Delaware and therefore built its depot two miles south, in the woods. Hubbell and Carney had built a warehouse at their new town of Berlin and were selling off eighty lots when this blow shut them down. Ironically, the railroad added a curve years later that brought it right through the now-deceased village. The location of Berlin is on Route 36/37, at the railroad bridge near Baker Road and Sweeney Road. Big Walnut Berkshire/Trenton Twp. Railroad town on the township line at the eastern edge of Sunbury--the town that swallowed it. Located at North Walnut Street and McGill Street, or where the Conrail tracks crossed Big Walnut Creek, just south of Hartford Road. Existed for about a decade between 1900 and 1913. Boke's Creek Settlement Scioto Twp. Richard Hoskins and his family, immigrants from Wales, headed west in 1805 and arrived in Franklinton in December of that year. The following spring, they headed north on the Sandusky Military Road and settled at the mouth of Boke's Creek on the Scioto River. The settlement they founded there was the site of several firsts in the township, including the first log cabin (built by Zachariah Stephens, who died as soon as it was finished), sawmill, and school. Irish immigrants and their families built homes around the Hoskins land. Today there's nothing left of the two-hundred-year-old village. Bowetown Brown Twp. Erastus Bowe, a settler from Vermont, moved his family into Delaware County in 1809 and founded a town he modestly named after himself. It never had a post office or any structures other than a log cabin, and nobody but the Bowe family ever lived there, so you have to wonder why it's even considered a town. Nevertheless, Bowtown Road (the "e" was dropped at some point) still runs east out of Delaware. The settlement was located between Bowtown Road and Route 36/37. Brindle Corners Scioto Twp. Crossroads town located at the intersection of Brindle Road and Ostrander Road. Buell's PO ? Twp. The location of this town is a mystery, probably because it was renamed. The only indication that it ever existed comes from a book listing post offices. Buell's Post Office operated from April to June of 1827. Carpenter's Mill Liberty Twp. Also known as Liberty Settlement, it was the site of the first mill in Delaware County (1804). It was both a sawmill and a gristmill. Ten or fifteen years later a sawmill was built just below Liberty Settlement on the Olentangy, followed by another at the same spot--a stone structure built by Jones, Gunn & Co. and later operated by James Henkle as a woolen factory. A gristmill was built in 1843-44 and run by James Bieber, who replaced the wooden building with another of stone and operated both a sawmill and a the gristmill at the same time. Another mill was built on the other side of the river by Jospeh Cellar. Too many damn mills to keep straight. The post office ran from 1832-37, though the settlement had been there since 1801. Bieber's mill stands in ruins, and the pillars from the old iron bridge are still visible in the river near the place where Winter Road crosses Chapman Road. Center Village Harlem Twp. Still in existence, barely, at the place where SR 605 intersects with Center Village Road. It was called Centerville until the post office forced it to change its name in 1851. The post office closed in 1907, and the mail was sent to Sunbury. The tavern is still there, but closed-down businesses include blacksmiths, mechanics, general stores, and an apothecary.

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