Franklinton is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, just west of its downtown. Settled in 1797, Franklinton is the first American settlement in Franklin County, and was the county seat until 1824. As the city of Columbus grew, the city annexed and incorporated the existing settlement in 1859. Franklinton is bordered by the Scioto River on the north and east, Harmon Avenue on the east, Stimmel Road and Greenlawn Avenue on the south, and Interstate 70 on the west.Franklinton Area Commission Retrieved March 28, 2014 Its main thoroughfare is West Broad Street, one of the city's two main roads.
A portion of the neighborhood is sometimes called The Bottoms because much of the land is subject to flooding from the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and a floodwall is required to contain the rivers and protect the area from floods. The low-lying bottom land was well suited for farming, with the river serving as a direct connection to the Ohio River. The floodwall, completed in 2004, spurred developments in East Franklinton. The projects involved demolition of three public housing projects, displacing its former residents to other areas. The developments are predominantly luxury mixed-use buildings, spurring significant gentrification in the neighborhood.
History Settlement and founding (1795–1859)
In 1795 Lucas Sullivant was employed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to survey the Central Ohio portion of the Virginia Military District. Sullivant, along with approximately 20 men surveyed the western side of the Scioto River at the confluence of the Olentangy and Scioto Rivers. As payment for his work, Sullivant was given 6,000 acres in the Refugee Tract reserved for those who aided the American Revolution.
Sullivant, after surveying the land, returned to Kentucky where he courted Sarah Starling, the daughter of his mentor Colonel William Starling. In 1797, Sullivant returned to the Ohio and laid out a village of 220 lots in Franklin County, which he named Franklinton in honor of the recently deceased Benjamin Franklin. This original settlement fronted the forks of the rivers. In 1798, a year later, a flood submerged most of the town. Sullivant then relocated the settlement to an adjacent space, simply on a higher elevation off of the riverbank.
The replatted town was laid out in blocks that contained four lots in a square, with each lot measuring 99' wide by 115' deep. To encourage people to move to the new settlement, Sullivant offered free land for anyone willing to build a house along Gift Street, near the eastern edge of his plat. Along with platting and settling the town, Sullivant also built several structures out of brick and glass from Philadelphia. These buildings included a courthouse, a brick home to impress Starling (who was wed to Sullivant in 1801), a brick church and the first bridge across the Scioto River.
The town of Franklinton was then made the county seat of Franklin County in 1803, when Franklin County was created from Ross County. The population and town grew during the War of 1812, as Franklinton served as a staging point for General William Henry Harrison's Army of the Northwest. Following the war, the community continued to grow with the expansion of the country's railway system along with the construction of a new state capital, Columbus, on the opposite side of the Scioto River. Columbus's growth eventually led to it being named county seat in 1824 and Franklinton was annexed by the city in 1859.
In 1846, traveler Henry Howe had this to say about Franklinton: "Franklinton lies on the west side of the Scioto, opposite Columbus. It was the first town laid off in the Scioto valley north of Chillicothe. From the formation of the county, in 1803, it remained its seat of justice until 1824, when it was removed to Columbus. During the late war, it was a place of general rendezvous for the northwestern army, and sometimes from one to three thousand troops were stationed there. In those days, it was a place of considerable note; it is now a small village, containing, by the census of 1840, 394 inhabitants."
He visited again in 1886, writing: "Franklinton now is included in the city of Columbus. It has changed less than any part of the city so near the centre, and preserves to this day many of its old style village features. It is a quiet spot, but cannot much longer so remain in the rapid progress of improvements."
Post-annexation (1860–1899)
During the last half of the nineteenth century, four railroads were established in Franklinton and brought commercial and industrial growth. In 1850, the Columbus and Xenia Railroad Company was chartered to build and operate a railroad that ran from Columbus, Ohio to Xenia, Ohio. This railroad was the first to run through Columbus and into central Franklinton. The growth of local railroads and governmental action in the United States, including Abraham Lincoln's Pacific Railroad Acts, caused railroads to become a major form of transportation in the twentieth century. By 1902, the popularity of the railroads forced Ohio canals into retirement. The need for interurban travel created Columbus interurban railways.
Franklinton quickly transformed from a farming based community to an urban society known for its railroad cars and horse-drawn buggies. The railroad service and industrial development drew people from the southwest part of the state and West Virginia. Many of these people chose to reside in the East Franklinton area to be closer to the industrial activity. Although Franklinton continued to grow as an industrial center, the frequent flooding near most of the industrial development proved to be problematic. Franklinton experienced multiple minor floods, which ravaged the west side in 1798, 1832, 1834, 1847, 1852, 1859, 1860, 1862, 1866 (the river rose 12 feet that year), 1868, 1869, 1870, 1875, 1881, and 1883.
In 1889, the city spent $50,000 to construct massive levees along the banks of the Scioto. The majority of the current houses in Franklinton were built after the completion of these levees.
On September 14, 1897, Columbus held a three-day сentennial celebration for Franklinton. Local and notable guests were invited to speak at the celebration. Though the speeches praised Lucas Sullivant's courage and hard work, many agreed that, in retrospect, the flood-prone area had been unfit for settlement. Also, the original neighborhood design had not included alleys.
20th century
Franklinton experienced extreme flooding in the Great Flood of 1913. After two days of steady rain, the wooden levees holding the Scioto River collapsed on March 25, 1913. The flood engulfed the neighborhood of Franklinton with 7–17 feet of water. Police officers in horse-drawn carriages traveled the flooded streets, warning residents to head to the higher ground of the adjacent Hilltop neighborhood. While recording the devastation of the flooding, Robert F. Wolfe, publisher of The Columbus Evening Dispatch, chartered an interurban train from Columbus to Buckeye Lake and took nine motorboats and 20 rowboats with him to the river's edge. From Rich & Scioto Street he was able to help residents who could not get to higher ground. The rising of the waters swept 93 people to their deaths and left 20,000 people homeless. It also destroyed nearly 500 buildings and every bridge in the downtown area. A large number of residents relocated to the Hilltop. As a result, property values dropped as much as 50 percent. Early estimates of the flood damage to homes and businesses came in at $5 million with the eventual total climbing to $22 million. The damages from the Great Flood of 1913 led to some the first watershed planning and flood-control measures.
In 1943, B & T Metals in East Franklinton was involved in producing uranium reactor fuel for the Manhattan Project. Between March and August of that year, the company was contracted to extrude about 50 tons of uranium for the Hanford reactor, in the early stages of the U.S. nuclear weapons program during World War II. Workers were given no protection from radiation, though were given physicals every week. The site was remediated in 2001, and most of the building was demolished in 2011. The northwest corner of the building remains standing, at 435 W. Town St., where most of the contamination was centered.
The 1959 Flood was the last major flood to hit the Franklinton area. On January 22, 1959, the Frank Road crest on the Scioto River came and was 27.22 ft. above the flood stage level. The frozen ground throughout the area was partly responsible for the large volume and rapid rate of runoff of the heavy rain.
From 1977 to 1985, the gay club Rudely Elegant operated on West Broad Street in Franklinton, in the art-deco Avondale Theatre. The club was notable for its street presence, at a time when Midwest gay clubs would be unmarked and accessed from alleyways. The club was open to straight people as well, and became known for its themed costume parties; some called it the Studio 54 of the Midwest. It was operated by Corbett Reynolds, a leading figure in the city's LGBT community, and now stands as a Lev's pawn shop. The club and its owner were featured in a Columbus Museum of Art exhibition in 2019–20.
In 1983, The Federal Emergency Management Agency determined almost all of Franklinton to be in a floodplain and at risk from a flood with a 1% chance of annual occurrence. As a community that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, the City Council adopted an ordinance that restricted new construction in the area. All construction in the area was to meet the minimum criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program. These restrictions caused Franklinton to have a gradual population decline.
During the latter half of the twentieth century, the construction of the Interstate Highway System had a major effect on Franklinton. The inner belt construction of the 1960s removed several buildings along Sandusky Street, resulting in lowered property values and driving families out of East Franklinton. In addition to the land use and population changes that occurred, the inner belt formed a barrier which sealed off the side of East Franklinton that was not bordered by the Scioto River. This isolation was reinforced with the construction of West Interstate 70.
21st century
Today, Franklinton is an urban neighborhood consisting of about 36,000 residents. Though recent redevelopment efforts have improved the area, 56% of Franklinton residents lack a high school diploma, over 60% of residents live below the poverty line, and 93% of students at the school's public elementary school are eligible for free or reduced lunch.
The Franklinton Floodwall, completed in 2004, is 7 miles long, cost $134 million, and is able to protect the area to crests of up to 30.9 ft. The wall's completion released the area from being considered a floodplain, as well as releasing the previous building restrictions that often prevented development in the past. As a result, commercial and industrial activities are starting to grow in the East Franklinton Area. This resurgence is evidenced through multiple community plans, as well as the creation of the Franklinton Area Commission.
Between 2009 and 2011, the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority demolished three housing projects in the East Franklinton area. Two high rises, Sunshine Annex and Sunshine Terrace, and a 127 unit apartment complex, Riverside Bradley. The population in East Franklinton was greatly reduced as a result.
During this time, the city of Columbus rehabbed 16 homes through a program called Home Again.