I have driven by this area for over a decade after moving into a nearby neighborhood. There is a sign at the off-ramp from I-70 to Hague pointing to San Margherita, but not much of it is left. The Market has closed, some of the houses have sold for newer development, and a new MetroPark is being constructed Catty-corner to the neighborhood. There was never a good location for a geocache until the recently completed sidewalk improvements.
It is alway good to learn more about your town.
San Margherita is located west of Columbus, across the Scioto River. Between 1880 and 1920, the area was populated by Italian immigrants who worked in the nearby Marble Cliff Quarry. The majority of the immigrants came from the commune of Pettorano sul Gizio in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy, where the patron Saint Margaret of Cortona became the hamlet's namesake.[1] Originally, the quarry provided workers with shack-like homes placed along McKinley Avenue and the railroad tracks.[2] Quarry workers who amounted enough wealth moved on to construct homes along the south side of Trabue Road.
At its founding, the area was not connected to Columbus by train. As such, residents of the neighborhood kept livestock and grew some of their own produce. The community was bound together by mutual language and customs, shared work and problems, and by deep family friendships. The isolation prompted members of the neighborhood to drive for a church of their own in 1921. Thirteen local families each pledged $50 and received a land donation to begin construction. The original Saint Margaret of Cortona Church was constructed at 3388 Trabue Road.
Today when you visit San Margherita you will see newly constructed apartments, storage units, about a half-a-dozen homes, one of the remaining businesses Johnnies Tavern "Home of the Super Burger" (and I am told it is good but not GF), and the tomato man who holds to tradition and sells roadside in-season produce from his acre plot. In 2022, the Quary MetroParks is set to open on the other side of the railroad tracks next to the Scioto River.
The geocahe is simple and placed to help you discover this piece of Columbus history before it is gone. There is no need to go off the paved path to find it.
Congratulations to msmandi for the FTF!