Immigration - The Irish in Columbus Marker
Immigration
Marker Text:
The Irish in Columbus
Side A: Thousands of Irish immigrants came to Columbus to seek personal and religious freedom. With the "Great Hunger" in Ireland and the completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the National Road, immigration to Columbus increased in the mid nineteenth century. They initially settled in the north side of the city in the swamp flats, where inexpensive land was available and work could be had on the railroads. Settlement spread to Franklinton, on Naghten Street, later known as "Irish Broadway"- part of which is now Nationwide Boulevard, and to nearby Flytown. The immigrants became domestic workers, civil servants, entrepreneurs, and served the city in police and fire departments. Others were leaders in government, law, medicine, and education. Their legacy continues today in the Irish-American population of Columbus, Ohio.
Side B: These are only a representative few of the Irish individuals and groups who were prominent in the formation of Columbus.
Irish in Columbus before Ohio Statehood
Lucas Sullivant, Founder of Franklinton in 1797
John Brickell, Early settler
Irish in Columbus during early Statehood
Thomas Kirker, Ohio's 2nd governor, acting 1807-08 term
John Kerr, 2nd Mayor of Columbus
Alfred Kelley, Father of Ohio Canals, Ohio and Erie Canal Developer, and Legislator
Irish in Columbus after the Great Hunger (1845)
Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis, St. Francis Hospital Dominican Sisters, St. Mary of the Springs, St. Mary of the Springs Academy
William "Billy" Naghten, Columbus City Council President
Patrick Egan, Franklin County Coroner for ten terms
Jeremiah O'Shaughnessy, Superintendent, Division of Water, Columbus, Ohio
Location: John McConnell Boulevard and Spring Street
Transportation - Canals
Transportation
Marker Text:
Canal Winchester and the Ohio and Erie Canal
Side A: You are standing on the site of Ohio and Erie Canal. The canal helped to open the interior of Ohio to trade and settlement and played a part in Winchester's prosperity during the mid-1800s. Local farmers exported grain from the village via the canal while local merchants imported such items as coffee, dishes, and tools for sale. Winchester was later named Canal Winchester to distinguish it from other "Winchesters" and to honor the role the canal played in its development.
Side B: Construction of the Ohio and Erie began in 1825 and the first canal boat sailed through Winchester in 1831. The entire 308-mile length of the waterway, from Cleveland to Portsmouth, opened in 1832. The advent of the railroad in Ohio in the 1850s heralded the end the canal era. The last canal boats passed through Winchester in 1901. After many years of decline, the Ohio and Erie Canal was abandoned in 1913.
Native Americans - Scioto Trail
Native Americans
Transportation - National Road Marker
Transportation
Marker Text:
The National Road
To George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others, a road to the Ohio Country was essential for the United States’ development. An overland route was the way west for settlers and goods, as well as a means to transport settlers’ produce to eastern markets. Construction of the National Road began at Cumberland, Maryland in 1811, reached Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1818, and entered Columbus at Main Street in 1833. The road turned north on High Street and continued west on Broad Street. Crossing Ohio and Indiana, the road continued into Illinois. The last section of the road from the Indiana border to Vandalia, Illinois opened in 1839. An original milestone at Christ Lutheran Church in Bexley indicates the distance from Cumberland (254) and to other points east (Wheeling, 124; Zanesville, 50) and west (Columbus, 3½)
Location: Main Street and Cassady Avenue, Bexley, Ohio
Transportation - The National Road
Transportation
Marker Text:
Front Side - The National Road
After the Revolutionary War, our first President, George Washington, advocated the construction of a road linking cities in the United States from east to west. In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation authorizing the road. The National Road was the nation's first federally funded highway and was intended to link Cumberland, Maryland to St. Louis, Missouri. The Enabling Act of 1802, which led to the creation of the state of Ohio, contained a provision that allowed for some money from the sale of federal lands to be used for construction of the road to Wheeling on the Ohio River. Contracts were given in 1811 and the National Road was completed through Columbus by 1833. Construction stopped in Vandalia, Illinois due to the popularity of canals, increased railroad usage, and lack of funds. The 591-mile corridor passes through six states: Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
Back Side - The National Road
As a federally funded road, tolls were charged to pay for maintenance. Toll houses, designed by the Army Corps of Engineers, were modeled after lighthouses and placed approximately every ten miles. In Ohio, stone Mile Markers were placed every mile indicating the distance to Cumberland, Maryland at the eastern point of the National Road and listing the nearest cities and their distances east and west. The National Road has had many names: the Cumberland Road, the Old National Road, and the Old National Trail. With the establishment of a national numbered highway system in 1925, the road, following the 40th parallel, was designated U.S. Route 40. In Columbus, the National Road enters from the east on Main Street toward High Street; then north on High Street to West Broad Street, continuing west to the Ohio border.