Cornfield's Addition - North of Broad and South of Long

John Duffy, circa 1909

Cornfield's Addition was laid out in 1875 for John Duffy, the guardian of Charles B. Cornfield and his younger sister Margaret. Their father was John Cornfield from Kildare, Ireland, a successful Columbus pawnbroker in 1870. Duffy was a prosperous Columbus grocer, originally from Tipperary, Ireland. He retired from the grocery business in 1884 and became a real estate speculator. John had a "beautiful home" at 319 East Gay Street.

Seventeen homes and one business in Cornfield's Addition were demolished after 1967 to make what is now the parking lot of East High School.

The original 1875 plat map is interesting as all the street names but East Long have changed or no longer exist. Reed Avenue is now Taylor Avenue, Mulberry Street is now Parkwood Avenue and Barr Street and Maplewood Alley are gone altogether, though Barr Street was later known as Eastwood Avenue.

As you can see on the map the "Street R.R." or streetcar tracks ran down the center of Long and turned south at Mulberry Street (Parkwood) towards East Broad Street, which was the end of that car line. At the time this map was drawn those were horse-drawn cars, not yet the electrified versions. Columbus' streetcars were converted starting about 1890 and were all electric by 1892. The Long Street route was electrified on September 7, 1891.

The Long Street horsedrawn streetcar, circa 1888. From the Columbus Railroads website.

Lots 1-7 of the addition ran along East Broad and contain the original foot print of East High School. The back of the school building ran along the south side of Eastwood Avenue (Barr Street).

Lots 12-14 had two homes on them that faced on Eastwood (Barr), a duplex, 1505-1506 Eastwood Avenue and a single family home, 1512 Eastwood Avenue.

Along Parkwood Avenue, lots 15-18 and 25-27, there were six homes, 35, 43, 51, 57, 63 and 73. The largest was the mansion at 51 Parkwood Avenue built in 1905 for Walter B. Beebe, president of the Central National Bank. Another was the home of Ferdinand Schoedinger, where he died and from which his funeral was held in 1935. Other Columbus notable who lived in these homes include Newton Kurtz Billow, Eugene A. Reed, Walter A. Jones, Alvan Tallmadge and Carlton T. Nelson.

There was a home on lot 8 which was 50 Taylor Avenue. A commercial structure was on lots 9-11 with an address of 60 Taylor Avenue. Later lots 8-11 were all commercial and known as 1500 Eastwood Avenue.

On the south side of East Long Street were lots 19-24 with eight homes, 1493, duplexes 1495-1497 and 1501-1503, the rest single family homes, 1507, 1511, 1515, 1519 (alternately numbered 1521) and 1527.