Joseph M. Briggs and Briggsdale / Briggsdale

Joseph M. Briggs and Briggsdale, also, Briggsdale. . , Joseph M. Briggs and Briggsdale. Briggsdale was one of many small hamlets that grew up along the roads and rial lines on the outskirts of Columbus in the nineteenth century. The unincorporated village was platted in 1893 by Joseph M. Briggs (1833- 1913), whose family settled in Franklin Townaship in 1816. Briggs had a long career in public service, holding office as a township assesor, township treasurer, and county commissioner. A shrewd real estate investor and tireless promoter of his community, Briggs is credited with various civic improvements, including the Methodist church and original Briggs schoolhouse, both built on his land along Harrisonburg Pike. He was also a proponent of the Columbus, Grove City and Southwestern interurban line that ran from Columbus to Harrisburg, passing through Briggsdale, which provided local commuter service from 1898 - 1922., Briggsdale. Briggsdale was established on the north side of the Columbus and Harrisburg Turnpike, a private toll road that was completed in 1849 and passed diagonally through the southeast corner of the Briggs family farm. The 1893 plat consisted of 97 small lots, five public streets, and several existing buildings, including a railroad depot, a post office, a schoolhouse, and the Joseph M. Briggs home. The Italianate style home, where Briggs and his wife Louisiana raised their seven children, was built in 1881 and demolished in 1958. The last Briggs home on the original family farmstead was built on this site in 1911 and occupied by William Irving Briggs (the eldest son of Joseph) until his death in 1964. The house was demolished for expansion of the Briggsdale Apartments complex in 2018.