Photos courtesy of the Dublin Historical Society
Dublin’s community has a rich history, and its street names are no different. A complex account that interweaves hundreds of years of homage lies behind the City’s seemingly simple street names.
First off, to help define what street names to use, there are certain rules to which the city must adhere. Some connected streets share a similar theme. There can’t be duplicate names. These guidelines help emergency services swiftly respond to emergencies.
However, the “no duplicates” rule leads to an interesting variety. Barbara Cox, engineering manager for the City of Dublin, says a challenge is posed by the inventiveness that is required for naming new streets.
“You end up with weird street names sometimes,” she says.
Some street and area names have obvious origins. Sawmill Road was not-so-creatively dubbed because of the sawmill located there. Also, the community halfway between Worthington and Dublin was pragmatically named. Linworth was created by combining “lin” from Dublin and “worth” from Worthington.
While these names aren’t exactly mind boggling, there are many streets that were named for the area’s first settlers.
“A lot of Dublin’s background is influenced by cities overseas, usually more than people realize,” says Mike Pineault, communications technician for the Dublin Division of Police.
Dublin itself was named after Ireland’s capital city, but ironically, none of the original individuals or families who settled in Dublin were from Ireland. Instead, the early settlers were predominantly German.
Dublin came to be when soldiers and officers of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War received compensation for their services via land in the Virginia Military District. However, most sold the land without ever settling on it. Lt. James Holt received 889 acres of land in 1795 and, by 1803, the Sells family from Pennsylvania had bought it from him. The first stages of Dublin’s development began with this simple transaction.
Sells Alley is named for John Sells, who also had influence in naming Dublin. Intending to make the property more marketable by having it platted into small lots forming a community, Sells had the land surveyed by John Shields, a surveyor from Franklinton, in 1810.
Legend says that a grateful Sells gave Shields the honor of naming the community. Shields named it after his birthplace; Dublin, Ireland. Notably, John Shields Parkway is also named after the surveyor.
Coffman Road was named after Henry Coffman, a hatmaker who moved to Dublin to marry Margaret Sells in 1808. After careful restorations, the 119-acre Fletcher Coffman farm on Coffman Road now serves as the headquarters and museum for the Dublin Historical Society.
Britton Parkway was named after Benjamin Britton, the first minister of the Dublin Christian Church – founded in 1811 – of which John Sells’ family were early members.
Ashbaugh Road was named after one of the community’s earliest settlers, Enoch Cyrus Ashbaugh, a pioneer farmer. Also known as Blackberry Road or Mt. Zion Road, it was only an uneven strip of dirt when it came into existence. A small stretch of it is still accessible from Brand Road, but most of it was swallowed by the Muirfield Village development in the 1970s.
Karrer Place was named for Dr. Henry Karrer, who was part of the 1924 class of Dublin High School and received his doctorate degree from The Ohio State University. He began his popular practice in 1932 at 35 S. High St. Some weeks, he worked up to 100 hours caring for Dublin patients. He delivered 2,633 babies in 32 years and was the sports team doctor for Dublin High School in the 1950s and 1960s.
Tuller Road was named after Holcomb Tuller, a businessman who moved to Dublin in 1836. He opened a general store at South High and Spring Hill, and built an ashery between North Riverview Street and the river, just north of Bridge Street.
Newer streets are not excluded from this entangled history of Dublin’s people. For example, Kate Brown Drive is dedicated in fond memory to 7-year-old Kate Brown who, though she was awarded the Most Valuable Swimmer award, tragically lost her life in a swimming-related accident during the first Dublin Dolphins swim team season in 1989.
There’s also John Timm Way and Ann Richens Drive. Timm is a world champion Irish dancer. He started Irish dancing at the age of 3 under Ann Richens and now has a dance studio in Dublin: the Richens/Timm Academy of Irish Dance.
Regardless of the reason for their names, Dublin’s streets have not evolved overnight. The streets reflect Dublin’s intricate history, which can be traced back to the first people to claim the land that we still traverse and reside in every day.
Corinne Murphy is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
