The OES visited the Groveport Interurban Line on October 8, 2002. Completed in 1904 as part of the Scioto Valley Traction Line, this electric railroad opened Groveport to new residents and offered current residents freedom to travel in a timely manner to surrounding towns. The interurban lines were influential in creating the suburbs of Columbus. When the village council was planning the route for the interurban line, they decided to place the tracks on the less-traveled Blacklick Street rather than on Main Street. Their reasoning was with the less-traveled road, there would be fewer dangers to traffic. The first passenger car passed through Groveport on a trip from Columbus to Canal Winchester in July 16, 1904. The car could reach an amazing speed of 62 MPG and took as little as five minutes to get to Canal Winchester from Groveport. The line connected Columbus, Groveport, Canal Winchester, Carroll, Lancaster, Ashville, Circleville, Kingston, Chillicothe, and other local points. The traction line ceased operation in 1930 when automobiles and buses made it obsolete. A portion of the line remained in use as a coal transport line from Groveport to the Pickaway Power Plant until the mid 1950s when the entire line was abandoned. Today the traction line remains embedded in the bricks of Blacklick Street, serving as a reminder of what helped build Columbus’ suburbs.
Location Information: Public Roadway
The Groveport Interurban Line is located along Blacklick Street in Groveport; Franklin County.
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