Springfield, Ohio

East Main Street

As the National Road (US 40) winds its way west from Columbus, the next major population center is Springfield, Ohio in a rather flat region of the state. The home of the Shawnee prior to the American Revolutionary War, the city was a hub of manufacturing with several automobile companies located in the city in the early twentieth century. As manufacturing jobs disappeared, the city suffered a substantial population drop as well, losing a quarter of its population since 1960.

Today, US40 is lined with shops selling CBD oil, tattoo parlors and instant loan store fronts. An abandoned house, with a front picture window broken out and the rest bordered up, had sleeping bag, pillow, and assorted clothes strewn on a side porch. The porch devoid of its paint.

Former manufacturing office on Murray Street

A bowling alley, a place of entertainment and communal exchange in the bygone era of manufacturing, had a sign that indicated it was opened Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays; but it was not. Several flyers were scattered on the stoop, and the derelict doors told a different story.

Nevertheless, the mood of the town is defiant according to signs and advertisements. Many express an impatience with a new economy. A dilapidated duplex on a side street had a wooden sign, usually made a local fairs and artisan shows, that simply read: “The Lord is My Shepherd”.