Broadway, Ohio

Lately I seem to have taken to researching all of the tiny little towns that dote the west central Ohio area. Today my focus is Broadway, Ohio. This village is located in central Union County.

Broadway, Ohio

In 1864, the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad was built through Taylor Township, Union County, Ohio. At that time, a house and store was erected near the railway. The village, soon to be named Broadway, Ohio, was surveyed in August of 1865 by Union County's deputy surveyor, A. S. Mowry. The name of the town was derived from the wider than standard spacing of the rails on the A & GW Railway.

On December 27, 1865 a post office was established in the village. Local barrister, Peleg Cranston, was named the first post master. The post office would eventually carry the zip code 43007. In October of 1914, the Broadway post office was robbed. The thieves were never caught. On February 2, 1996, the Broadway closed. There was not enough postal business in the tiny village to merit its own post office location. Mail service was transferred to Marysville.

In its heyday, Broadway boasted three general stores, two groceries/restaurants, a two story frame school house, a feed store, two millenary shops, a harness shop, two shoe shops, two hotels, a livery stable, two butcher shops, and a grain elevator. There was also a newspaper headquartered in Broadway, The Enterprise. Local lore even hints that there has always been a saloon or two in Broadway.

But, as with most small towns, progress has led to the demise of the town. Improved transportation has caused most businesses to move to Marysville or close completely. The school is no longer open, and the children attend school in Marysville. However, many houses remain.