Sites of
Interest
- Mann Road - Mann
Road between Clark State Road and Havens Corners -Named for the Mann
brothers in the early 1800's, Mann is a short narrow road today—home
to a variety of housing from small cottages to large estates.
The road gently slopes from its highest point at Clark State,
through a glacier-created valley containing Goose Creek, a small
tributary of Rocky Fork, and back up to the ridge which carries
Havens Corners Road. Mann Road is primarily a tree-lined,
shady, cool spot in summer and sheltered in winter. Drivers on
Mann Road can enjoy a wide variety of architectural styles and
history among the homes along the street. At the northeast
corner of Mann and Havens, one of the early farm homes of the
Township can be seen. Diagonally across the intersection is a
1920s-circa home and barn, now used to house polo ponies.
- Darling &
Rovilla Roads - Darling is even narrower than
Havens Road, and Rovilla, narrower still. Darling heads due
north from Havens, then makes a sharp turn west about midway,
indicating that it was laid out along the edges of properties.
The 1812 map of the township confirms this. The
north/south section of today's Darling Road probably best
illustrates Jefferson Township’s early 18th century
beginnings, and reflects the styles the settlers brought with
them. Drivers heading north pass by historical Ayres Cemetery,
established in 1820 as a family burial ground and now maintained
by Jefferson Township. As they continue north, they pass split
rail fences and see a 1820's barn built right on the road, as
was the style of the day. Tree-dotted pastures and lawns
characterize this portion of Darling Road.
- Reynoldsburg-New
Albany Road, From Rovilla to Clark State - This road is a main
artery for commuters between the two towns whose names it
carries, and yet in this area it retains a lot of its early 19th
century character. The road was shown on maps dating back to
1842, passing by or cutting through lands owned by the Township’s
earliest settlers. The north-south road follows a ridge above
Blacklick Creek, moving closer and further away, as the creek
and its flood plain meander. In this particular section,
two homes are notable. Both home sites were originally owned by
members of the Havens family. Both are built close to the road,
in the manner of the early 18th century, and both are built of
white clapboard, also indicative of the period, when hardwood
forests covered much of this area and nearby Blacklick Creek was
home to many small mills — at least three in Jefferson
Township. These homes are at 2650 Reynoldsburg-New Albany Road
on the east side, and 2825 Reynoldsburg-New Albany Road on the
west side, just south of the road’s intersection with Clark
State Road. The flavor of a small town remains at the
intersection of Reynoldsburg New Albany and Clark State. In
fact, the beginnings of a town were laid out here by the
Headley family, who owned much of the land surrounding this
intersection. The town was called Headley’s Corners after
them, until a post office named Ovid was located here. Ovid was
never platted into small lots like Blacklick and New Albany
were, which may be why it never developed further, but a 1910
map shows that Ovid was a stop on the old Interurban rail line
that connected Columbus through New Albany to Johnstown. A
special note at this corner is the evenly spaced row of Osage
orange trees on the west side, and a unique stone house on the
east side. Just south of the stone house is an estate on
Blacklick Creek built of the same stone. Local folks tell that
the estate builders imported a stonemason from the Netherlands
to create their home in the early 1920's. They liked the work so
much, they gave him the corner lot, where he built his own home
of the same local stone found nearby in and along Blacklick
Creek. This home was enlarged and remodeled in the mid 1990's,
but the stone "barn" next to Reynoldsburg New Albany
Road remains as it was originally constructed. A newly built
office building, designed to fit into the flavor of the area
with its stone façade, complements the older home. Just east of
the creek and south of Clark State near its intersection with
Reynoldsburg New Albany Road is Headley Cemetery, named after
the early settlers of this ground and used as their family
cemetery for many years. This cemetery was established in 1810,
and is now owned and managed by Jefferson Township. The Headley
home lies just across from the cemetery. The homestead evolved
from log cabin through many designs until becoming its current
Victorian style. After falling into disrepair for several years
in the 1980's and 90's, it was recently restored by its current
owners to its former imposing appearance.
- Between Clark
State and Sleeping Meadow Road - Headley Road, (which makes a
sharp turn and becomes Shull Road) is a "late bloomer"
not showing up on the early maps of the Township. It’s also
one of the few roads in Jefferson that was not occupied by any
members of the Headley family. Although Headley has been paved
and widened somewhat, Shull remains a very narrow winding road
typical of early rural roads. Headley Road is a somewhat
hilly road that heads west from Clark State Road, traveling
along Gahanna’s Headley Park, an active recreation site for
youth soccer, and sometimes polo. The Columbus Polo Club
frequently hosts matches here in the summer. A number of
1960's-era homes line the south side of the road until it nears
its western-most point, where a large estate can be seen through
the trees. West of the park is a large electrical substation
which negates the otherwise pastoral character of Headley
Road. A private gravel lane at the western terminus of
Headley is all that’s left of Headley’s one-time connection
onto the west, and then south to Clark State.
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