On a recent road trip, like on Janurary 1, I drove into Marysville, an historic town that bills itself that way. One of the town's signs says so. Curious, I drove down then up, the main drag just to see what's changed since three years ago when I included the Painted Lady, a Marysville establishment in an article I wrote on tea houses in Ohio. It seems that while the town's roots are established in history books, some of establishments that once existed are history. The Painted Lady is closed. A jewelry store is going to be there instead. Too bad. I really liked The Painted Lady, but good luck to the jewelry store. The what was once a residence is retaining its character so I think it will make a fine store. Across the street from there was an antique store bed and breakfast in an historic mansion type home where every room had items that corresponded to that room's original purpose. The kitchen had kitchen stuff for sale, for example. That store doesn't exist either, but there's an upscale restaurant, Doc Henderson's 318 E. 5th Street, 642-6661 in its place. There was a prominent physician, I think, who used to live here, but I can't remember if his name was Doc Henderson. Oh, yes his name was David Henderson and he had the house built in 1884. If you go here look for the historic plaque. I seem to recall it on an outside wall.
One place that seems to be a permanent fixture is Mrs. Renison's Doughnuts, 622 East 5th Street, 642-7008. It's been serving up the same homemade recipe since 1929 so I think it is a Marysville permanent fixture, at least for now, for sure.
One interesting fact I discovered about Marysville is that it was once called "the Shaded City" because of the number of maple trees that lined the streets in 1888.
Oh, yes. Marysville is currently making history as the site of a Honda plant, but that's old news. I think Marysville is worth the drive. It's a quick jaunt from Columbus and the downtown is charming.
Here is the link for a what to do in Marysville website. It's for the Union County CVB.
1. Not to be rude- but The Painted Lady was only open a short time and certainly wasn't historic. Mrs. Renison's is a franchise outfit, I think the one in Marysville has only been here about 15 years. Next time your back, check out "The Old Town Inn" for some great memorabilia from Marysville's past; the food is decent too. For some of the best Chinese in central OH, try out Jerry's House of Hunan- the menu and decor rival any Chinese in Columbus. We're also the home of Scotts, which was founded as a seed company after the Civil War, and have an amazingly beautiful Courthouse, especially inside. We're also the home of the Ohio Balloon Rally, Honda Homecoming for bikes, a great Junior Fair, some very good Churches, and have a nice summer concert series. You've got a great site, but the only thing about your Marysville write-up that was on-target is the Shaded City comment- unfortunately many of the trees were lost in the blizzard of '78.
- A Local
Posted at 8:42PM on Jan 2nd 2007 by Anon