By the end of 1889, arguably the first Interurban came into being. Track-work was completed from downtown Newark to a point east of Granville on the old thoroughfare. This is also where the money ran out. After some fund-raising, the line was completed into Granville where the old Bank of the Alexandrian Society still stands.
as seen in the top photo. Additions and renovations have removed all evidence of its use as a depot. At the Granville terminal of the Newark & Granville Electric Road, freight was loaded on the east side, as seen in the top photo. Additions and renovations have removed all evidence of its use as a depot.
Before long, an extension was built from the depot, down Main Street, to the Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad station in the Raccoon Valley. This was done to transport passengers from outlying areas to the interurban, which offered travel to downtown Newark, Buckeye Lake, Zanesville, and Columbus.
The system survived the first quarter of the Twentieth Century but fell victim to the automobile. This turned out to be a vicious issue in the 1920s and 1930s.
Grandma Irwin, a kind, elderly neighbor, told me how she took her daughters shopping in Columbus by using the interurban. The story has always given me pause to think how different our world would be if the interurban had won. Alas, we can only start with the world we are given.
Tim, I stumbled upon your blog while looking for history of the Cherry Valley Region currently within Newark, but it is my understanding the area used to be called Central City. I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to show what became of the Granville Depot, your detail and photo answered the exact question I was looking to answer! I think I'll take a look at some of your other posts.
ReplyDeleteSarah - Cherry Valley is the flat area between the Raccoon Creek and Granville. Central City is the houses in the area surrounding the Market Basket on Cherry Valley Road, which crrosses Cherry Valley on the way to Granville. Hope this helps! - Tim
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