A mid-winter's drive

Sometimes we huslte and bustle along the interstate trying to beat the rush or avoid the hassles. But sometimes twice the time can be a relaxing view of the history and beauty of the state. A Columbus to Canton drive was recently made more interesting by avoiding four-lanes of interstate.

The little, but growing, burg of Sunbury (wiki, government) is nestled northeast of Columbus US 36 and State routes 3 and 37. State Route 3, also known as the 3-C highway, connects Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland and was the preferred route before the interstate system connected the three cities in a nearly parallel path. Routes 3 and 36 skirt the town square, which today seems to be doing fairly well for aging buildings in a retail swath that has been avoided by traffic patterns. A wide open green surrounds (see Google aerial map) the main town hall building (from 1816) with plenty of retail stores rimming the square (see right, click to enlarge).

Riding north along Route 3/36 you pass through the alleged "geographic center" of Ohio, which is appropriately named Centerburg. One of the unique little buildings with an assured history that's unpublished on the web, is of a former little gas station/garage that sits along the main road. Over the years it has been renovated and currently it is hard to determine if it is still under work or if economic realities have struck (see left, click to enlarge).

The next big little burg along the 3/36 is the town of Mt. Vernon (wiki, history), which was founded in 1805. There are still many century homes along the main streets but the downtown square is another true town square like Sunbury's (see right, click to enlarge), only much more congested since Routes 3, 13, 36 and 229 merge here. Look lively while driving, for each carve a different path through the central city.

I found an old building interesting (see left, click to enlarge) in that what appear to be two apartments, or perhaps a single townhome, look to have been at one time a luxurious off-the-square living arrangement. Time has passed and the building used differently in time, but the living quarters remain.

Just off the downtown square is a restored railroad depot for the Baltimore and Ohio railroad (see above). It has been completely renovated with private funding, a total reaching approximately $800,000. While not in use as a depot, the railroad tracks are still active as a CSX train chugged through around the time of the picture. Close to the depot is the Mount Vernon Inn, a large bed and breakfast establishment. Rooms start around $100 per night but increase with Jacuzzie suites (see right, click to enlarge).

From Mt. Vernon there are several route options in heading for Canton. Route 36 runs east to Coshocton, where a link to I-77 will take you to Canton. Route 3 continues its parallel jog to I-71 and takes the driver through the hills of Mansfield, Loudonville and Mohican, where there are great summer excursions for hiking and canoeing. Route 62 takes a different scenic path, also through rolling hills, that leads into Amish country.

Amish country in Ohio (see left, click to enlarge) has become a tourist destination, if not Mecca, for crafts, cheese and furniture. Along these state and U.S. routes that are avoided by those traveling the to the Big C's in Ohio (Cincy, Columbus and Cleveland) there is much evidence of hard economic times and only in the suburban fringes of the big cities signs of new growth. But Amish country has plenty of new growth and signs of more coming. Some of the tourist destinations have closed, but perhaps more due to fierce competition of the tourist dollar and not the economy itself.

Millersburg (wiki) is the "big city" hub of Amish country. By Ohio standards, Millersburg isn't exactly and old "village", having been founded at the Civil War's end in 1865. The Old Town of Millersburg however was laid out in 1815. There is an old hotel, one of the oldest operating in Ohio (with reasonable rates rooms starting at $60), along the town square.

Millersburg is the third city along the day's drive with a sizeable and still functioning downtown square (see left, click to enlarge). Tourism and the convergence of US 62 and Ohio 83 have helped maintain some viability to the town. The courthouse is a sizeable brownstone structure that was built in the late Victorian Age and still maintains its charm on the square (see above right, click to enlarge).

From Millersburg a traveler can run right into Canton on U.S. 62, head to Massillon via Route 21 or run up Ohio 39 to Canal Fulton (wiki, history), where my final stop was before heading home. Canal Fulton is along the Ohio and Erie Canal and has been featured in a previous entry. The recent cold spell had frozen over many small creeks and ponds, and did not offer much variety for a good photo. But the Tuscarawas River is wide and flows fairly fast, and here at Canal Fulton along the abutment of an older bridge patches of ice, snow and mallard ducks made for an interesting final photo of the day (see right, click to enlarge).

While the time between Columbus and Canton was more than twice that of the interstate system (slowed albeit by a stop here and there for a picture), it was a chance to get off the beaten path and see a part of Ohio that is not often seen by those zipping along at 65 m.p.h.

- J.