Page 163 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

the forest and then laying out a plan. When the state government officials move to Columbus in 1816, they had to work from a two-story building on the corner of High and State Streets.
Despite now being the state capital, for many years Columbus hardly grew because it was so isolated.
By 1834 it had a population of 3,500. In 1837 Franklinton was made part of Columbus. In 1839 work began on the statehouse, although it would not be completed until 1857.
What changed the fortunes of Columbus were gradually improved communications. First there was the National Road that arrived from Baltimore, Maryland in 1831. This gave it connections by stagecoach to the east. Then a link was built to the Ohio and Erie Canal in 1832. This was the main canal from the great Lakes to New York and vital to all cities in the days before the railroads. Now goods could also be carried to and from Columbus. This meant it could, at last, become a manufacturing
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