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Outville, Ohio
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The Railroad and our town’s Depot.
As time went on, Outville became an important stop on the railroad. By the late 1800s, as a result of mergers and purchases, there were two major lines through Outville - the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) and the Pennsylvania (PCC&StL, or simply, PRR) Railroads. At one time, 100+ trains a day rolled through the town with its three tracks from Heath, Ohio to just past the Outville crossing.
In 1899, a wood frame depot was constructed by the B&O and it continued to be used by both that road and the Pennsy. The depot closed in about 1940 when the town ceased to be a regular passenger stop, and in 1963, local farmer Dwight Moose purchased the old building for $1.00 and hired a building mover to locate the structure on his farm, about a mile north of town. Photos below.
Mr. Moose died in the early-1990s. In 1993, through the efforts of Doug Smith, a Harrison Township Trustee, an agreement was made with Jim and Dorothy Daley, local residential developers who had purchased the farm, to arrange for the donation of the depot back to the town. Smith and his fellow Trustees, Ray Foor and Frank Laughlin, unanimously agreed for the Township to fund the relocation of the depot, so the building was hauled back down Licking County Road 40 (Outville Road) and positioned alongside the tracks once again, inside the Harrison Township Community Complex.
The Outville depot was recognized for its significance as an historical architectural and transportation resource and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. An Ohio Historical Society marker was placed at the depot in 2003. Photos below. Also in 2003, the Trustees applied for and received a Transportation Enhancement (TE) grant administered by the Licking County Area Transportation Study (LCATS), allowing for the restoration of the depot. It will become the focal point of the Township complex, which now includes the old Harrison Township House and the soon-to-be-built Harrison Township Community and Senior Citizens’ Center. The Outville site also includes a future park and an 18 acre natural woodland area.
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