Old North Columbus
Coordinates: 40°0′52″N 83°0′41″W / 40.01444°N 83.01139°W
Old North Columbus is a neighborhood located just north of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1847 where, at the time, it was a stand-alone city out of the confines of Columbus until it was incorporated into the City of Columbus in 1871. In its early years the city was a popular stagecoach stop with people traveling from Worthington to Columbus. Today Old North Columbus is popular for its local music and its unique "untouched architecture" which is reminiscent of its old roots.
Old North Columbus is bounded to the north by Glen Echo Ravine, to the south by Lane Avenue, to the west by the Olentangy River, and to the east by the Conway Railroad Tracks. This Columbus neighborhood is a smaller subdivision of the University District, which comprises all of the neighborhoods surrounding the Ohio State University campus.
Established as North Columbus in 1842, the name of the town largely lost relevance when it was annexed by city of Columbus in 1871. In an effort by the city to reestablish the neighborhood’s identity, a street project was proposed in 2000 to add two arches at the north and south borders of the neighborhood bearing the neighborhood’s name, Old North Columbus. In 2009, upon the building of the arches, there was a campaign led by the Olde North Columbus Preservation Society to add the letter “e” to the end of “Old”, on the two arches. According to Preservation Society member Seth Golding, "Olde was the spelling in the 1850's. It's more quaint, not just old. " Despite Preservation Society claims that the spelling was supposed to be corrected, the two arches retain the original spelling of “Old”.
Solomen and George W. Beers platted 40 acres of land in 1847 to create the first permanent settlement of Clinton Township, which they named North Columbus. This community was separate from the city of Columbus, which lay just to the south, but was later annexed by Columbus in 1871. During the 19th Century, North Columbus was a stagecoach stop between downtown Columbus and Worthington. Unlike the adjacent temperance-minded neighborhood of Clintonville, North Columbus had a history of saloons and speakeasies adorning the main thoroughfare of what is today High Street. North Columbus was also the site of a brick factory and a mill along the banks of the Olentangy River, which was owned and operated by the Beers Family, who helped to settle the area originally. Soon after being annexed in 1871, the city had a new neighbor in the community in 1873, The Ohio State University. Ohio State brought a major boom to the area and with that boom came more people that needed to live, work, and play. This really was the birth of what Old North Columbus is today.
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