Delaware Ohio’s Best: Small Town

We’ve been focusing pretty-heavy on food for this discussion and I thought we’d go a different route for this weeks edition of “Delaware Ohio’s Best”.

What is the best small-town in Delaware County?

They all have something to offer — and it is hard to pick which community puts it all together the best. But there has to be a winner …

Best-of-the-Best: Sunbury

It is always difficult to “choose” but Sunbury continued to rise to the top of the list. This small-town of about 3,500 has grown with leaps and bounds (City-Data estimated the 2005 population was 22% higher than 2000). While it has grown, the community’s core foundation has remained strong. It is home to Big Walnut High School and is a popular place for many people to raise a family. I recently spent a few hours in Sunbury doing some research and had lunch at the Sunbury Grill, had the Western Burger Special with a coffee and paid a grand total of $5.25. Where else can you get prices like that? Not many. Galena is just down the road from Sunbury and has my favorite “village green” in the county.

The community is also home to the Fallen Soldiors Memorial (a personal thing with me) and a lot of neat little stores. A new coffee shop is located in the shopping center above the Memorial and makes a pretty good Cappacino, while the Butcher Bloc next door carries a lot of very good Delaware County meat (more on that later).

My Personal Favorite: Prospect

Two towns couldn’t be much-more different than Prospect and Sunbury. While Sunbury’s population has been growing gang-busters, Prospects actually went down from 2000 to 2005 and is estimated by City-Data to be 1,142.

But, I love this little town. Maybe its because it reminds me so much of my hometown of Danville. Prospect has a little grocery store, a really-good Dairy Queen, and a great location on the Scioto River. When we were looking to buy, I really wanted to be in the Prospect area, but it didn’t happen for various reasons. But we continue to be frequent visitors to the area to enjoy its lovely setting.

The Not Really a Small-Town Anymore Award: Powell

My fear is that Sunbury will soon head the way of Powell. Old Powell is an extremely neat location and is similar to Sunbury. The problem is that the traffic build-up – brought on by those heading to locations in what would be considered “New Powell” ruin the atmosphere. Powell’s estimated 2005 population (according to City-Data) was 10,504 an amazing 68.1 percent growth over 2000. How can a town growing at this pace not face major growing pains? It can’t. And unfortunately, Powell is continuing to struggle with this.

The Best-of-the-Rest

• Ostrander – This quiet village located off St. Rte. 36 west of Delaware was “thrust” into history when Ben Curtis won the British Open. However locals enjoy the community’s quiet streets, though it is also becoming swallowed up by the inching-closer developments in Marysville and Delaware.
• Ashley – Locted at the intersection of St. Rtes. 42 and 229, Ashley is in Delaware’s extreme northeast corner. Ashley is a town in transition – its city government is working very hard to update the town and restore it to its once proud heritage. Of the northern Delaware communities (including Radnor, Prospect, and Norton) it is one of the strongest.
• Radnor – Located on St. Rte. 203 about 5 miles north of Delaware, Radnor is a cross-roads community with a modern EMT station and an elementary school.
• Kilbourne – This little town is a dot on St. Rte. 521 at Alum Creek. It has a nice park, a church, grocery, and a great place to access the creek. Conviently located to U.S. 36/37 and I-71, the greater Killbourne area is growing with more-and-more people wanting to “get away” from the city and suburbs.

This didn’t include Lewis Center for the mere fact that, well, Lewis Center is essentially a very-large post office and it nothing more than a cross-roads community. Don’t believe me? Contact me and we’ll go for a ride to downtown Lewis Center — you’ll be dissapointed.

I also left off the biggest-city in Ohio, Columbus, which is part of Delaware County’s southern edge. The Polaris Fashion Place Mall is in Delaware County and Columbus.

THE PHOTOS: (all taken by Toby Boyce)

• Top Photo: Sunbury’s lovely community square during a trip in mid-February.
• Second Photo: The Sunbury Grill located on the north-side of he community square in Sunbury.
• Third Photo: Galena’s Village Green
• Fourth Photo: The Memorial Marker of Toby’s dear friend Shamus Goare at the Fallen Soldiors Memorial in Sunbury.

Delaware Ohio’s Best is a weekly feature on Sadie’s Take on Delaware Ohio. Click here to read past editions.

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