Thomas Dominic Cassady (1842-1902) owned several large tracts of land on both sides of East Fifth Avenue and North Cassady Avenue – north of the railroad tracks.

“Cassady‘s road” that connected his and neighboring farms to what would become East Broad Street represented one of the few railroad crossing points east of Alum Creek. The northern section of Cassady Road set the alignment for the future extension of Cassady Avenue south of Broad Street.

Thomas Cassady proceeded to create a neighborhood called East Columbus by subdividing his farmland, and donating property for the construction of St. Thomas Catholic Church and School at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Cassady.

The Cassady family brick farmhouse was located on the northwest corner of North Cassady and Margaret Street, with additional Cassady family members building houses at the western edge of their holdings overlooking East Fifth Avenue at the Alum Creek bridge.

For the area between the railroad tracks and East Fifth Avenue – with Alum Creek to the west and North Cassady Avenue to the east – you’ll note the extension of the Bexley street names northward (Parkview, Columbia, Drexel, Northview and Dawson). The intent for Parkview was to connect with the Bexley North Parkview (requiring a railroad crossing) and create additional lots that parallel and overlook Alum Creek between the railroad and East Fifth Avenue.

Undoubtedly, the technical feasibility of achieving a Parkview railroad crossing and a potentially awkward intersection onto East Fifth Avenue directly at the Alum Creek bridge was insurmountable. Additionally, the Bexley City Fathers surely would have opposed such an extension northward of Bexley’s prestigious North Parkview Avenue.

Today, although the North Parkview lots exist as platted, the street remains unbuilt. The alley to the east of the lots facing Alum Creek was later named Parkview Blvd.

The 3.4 acre strip of property along Alum Creek between the railroad (to the south) and East Fifth (to the north) is green space called Cassady Park, which is owned by the City of Columbus. By all appearances, the park is a small patch of undisturbed wilderness and its interior features remain a yet to be explored mystery – a forgotten, but not lost park space.

Written by Lawrence Helman, Bexley Historical Society Trustee
Edited by Martina Campoamor, Bexley Historical Society Trustee
2022

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