CENTERBURG — North-south routes to transport goods from Lake Erie to the Ohio River started forming following the establishment of counties throughout Ohio, including Knox County in 1808.
One of those north-south routes included what became State Route 314. Then, with the capital moving to Columbus, more east-west routes were created.
Centerburg started to develop at the crossroads.
In 1834, the village of Centerburg was founded. The village grew and by the 1940s the Lions Club decided to create a community park — Centerburg Memorial Park.
Personal travel had been picking up across the state, and roadside rest stops became of interest. The southeast corner of Centerburg Memorial Park, at the intersection of major roadways, was an ideal spot, and the Ohio Department of Transportation established a rest stop there in the 1950s.
Gloria Parsisson, a community member with generations of personal family history in Centerburg, shared this history of the Hilliar Township rest stop — today located on the corner of Route 36 and Route 314 — during a rededication Wednesday.
Knox County Career Center’s students in the building trades program renovated the roughly 70-year-old rest stop this school year as a community service project, with the financial assistance of Ohio Contractors Association, Cellar Lumber and Ellis Brothers Concrete.
“Maybe somebody who has driven here a year ago and drives by now thinks it’s still the same structure,” KCCC building trades instructor Colby Clippinger said. “And, that was our whole goal, to put it back the way it was.”
Clippinger said his students approached the project with a nod to the past in mind, rebuilding it in the same shape and choosing a costlier option for the cedar shake roof to ensure it matched the original shelter.
The students also repurposed materials already in the area for part of the rest stop, specifically digging out stones from the hillside to use for the walkway.
While Clippinger and Parsisson could not say where exactly the stones had first been used, they speculated they were the remnants of a mill for grinding grain into flour, previously located on the land the park now occupies.
Aside from long being a place of respite for travelers, the Hilliar Township rest stop area also includes a 37th Infantry Division Monument to honor Ohio soldiers who served in the division in both World War I and II. While some parts of the rest stop were removed throughout the years — the restrooms, water spout, etc. — the memorial and shelter have remained.
“Again with a nod to the past, we felt it would be a disservice not to honor our veterans, which this whole thing was dedicated to in the beginning,” Clippinger said.
Lieutenant colonel (retired) Chris Salvucci led the rededication Wednesday with KCCC Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps students.
The following KCCC senior students contributed to the rest stop project: Tyler Adams (Centerburg), Chase Camillo (Mount Vernon), Sam Cole (Danville), Carson Comer (Mount Vernon), Nathan Cox (home schooled), Cameron Haignere (MOunt Vernon), Jonathan Hamman (Mount Vernon), Shane Hershberger (Mount Vernon), Trevor Mayle (East Knox), Wyatt McConkie (Clear Fork), Bradin Palm (Mount Vernon), Josef Reddick (Mount Vernon), Weston Ross (Fredericktown), Chase Stewart (Fredericktown), Jacob Stichert (Mount Vernon), and Andrew Workman (Danville).
The following KCCC junior students contributed: Dakota Allen (Mount Vernon), Rylan Baker (Mount Vernon), Dustin Beckett (Danville), Ethan Boggs (Centerburg), Makayla Crawford (Clear Fork), Joshua Henwood (East Knox), Lucas Herbst (Fredericktown), Dawson Hinton (Centerburg), Paul Kanagy (home schooled), Jordan Kochis (Mount Vernon), Levi Lyons (Danville), Cameron McMahon (Fredericktown), Aaron Mezie (Danville), Joseph Mickley (Danville), Brayden Noel (Centerburg), Tanner Ratliff (Centerburg), Jonathan Rutter (Mount Vernon), Adrian Seldon (East Knox), Logan Small (Fredericktown), and Jaxon Swank (Clear Fork).
