Columbus Collegiate Academy- West is located in the heart of Franklinton, Columbus. As part of my targeted recruiting and enrolling of students in the area, I have become more and more familiar with Franklinton and the history behind Columbus’ oldest neighborhood.    

Franklinton was founded by Louis Sullivant in 1797 and named the area after Ben Franklin, whom Sullivant greatly admired. (I bet you didn’t know the name Franklin County was inspired by Ben Franklin?! And another fun fact Sullivant is the name of a major street on the west side and Louis Sullivant’s wives, Sarah Starling, along with her brother, are the namesake behind Starling Middle and High School in Franklinton). In 1812, the Ohio General Assembly wanted to permanently place Ohio’s capital in the center of the state. They chose the area just east of Franklinton on the “higher ground” of the Scioto river. The decision to place Columbus just west of Franklinton over the Scioto River was a result of several floods Franklinton had seen since its inception; a decision that evidently served the capital city well in the future.

Franklinton is infamous for its low ground and tendency to flood; and consequently is referred by many of “The Bottoms” (for both its geographic location and socioeconomic status). Franklinton was seriously damaged in 1913 after the levees of the Scioto broke and poured 9 to 17 feet deep through the neighborhood. The building CCA-West recently moved into a school that was built in 1912. On the second floor of the school there is a sign showing where the water level was at the time of the flood. The flood of 1913 not only affected Franklinton, but many other parts of Ohio and to date is considered Ohio’s greatest weather disaster. In Franklinton, over 90 people were killed and 20,000 left homeless.

Arrows pointing to the water levels on the second floor of Dana Ave Elementary during the 1913 flood.

After the flood of 1913, Franklinton significantly struggled to rebuild the area. In 2004, a $134 million floodwall was complete. It took more than 90 years for the city of Columbus to build a secure floodwall in Franklinton. Flood problems, in combination with interstate highway construction, led to lower property values and an influx of low-income families throughout the 20^th Century. Until 2004 there hadn’t been a new structure or home built in over 80 years (mostly due to a city ordinance that restricted building in the floodplain). Today there are no building restrictions in Franklinton and the area has seen some growth and there is buzz of gentrification beginning to happen. But still, the demographics and poverty level in Franklinton remains startling. It’s continually reported as the poorest, most underserved community in Columbus and was cited in US News and World Report as one of the largest white slums in the U.S. Franklinton has a rich and complex history and will mostly likely see some revitalization in the future, hopefully affecting the local populations for the better.