CELERYVILLE - CITY OR VEGETABLE?

BOTH!

How did Celeryville, Ohio get its name? Celeryville was named by workers who moved there many years ago to pick celery and onion crops. It's 121 miles north of here, north of Bucyrus, Ohio.

Did you ever stop to think about other odd names for Ohio cities? Some places were named for founders, such as Cleveland, Dayton and Youngstown. Unusual cities might be Adamsville, Bratenahl, Elyria, and Painesville. But did you know there was a Worstville in Paulding County, south of Antwerp. What are the people like that live in Dull, Ohio, south of Van Wert in Van Wert County?

There is actually an Ottoville, Ohio in Van Wert County; Jugs Corners (named for a "still" near a mule trail), south of Mansfield, in Morrow County, and Knockemstiff near Bainbridge, south of Chillicothe. You can no longer go to Teacup, Ohio as it has vanished into a ghost town; the land being merged into another town.

Some cities were named for historical heros, like Columbus, Lafayette, and Washington; or American Indian roots, such as Chillicothe, Cuyahoga, and Mohicanville (southeast of Wooster).

Others are named for landscape, like Yellow Springs for iron, Vermillion for its red clay; Minersville, Portsmouth, and Rocky River for the geology of the area.

Some early settlers put a Biblical slant on cities, like Hebron, Mount Gilead, and New Antioch.

Did you know that there are cities in Ohio named for states, like Florida (in Henry County), Idaho (east of Waverly), Nevada (near Upper Sandusky), and Texas (east of Bowling Green). Don't forget Parma, Toledo, and two Berlin's (Williams County and Holmes County), and six Rome's (Adams, Ashtabula, Delaware, Franklin, Lawrence, and Richland Counties).

So if you're going to Rome, you'll have to say "which one;" and if you're going to Texas, don't look for the largest city in Ohio, because its very small.

No matter what its name, take a drive to a city you've never seen; it's very educational.