Riverbend is a neighborhood in southwest

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Riverbend itself is a single subdivision that is located next to Big Run Park. Because Riverbend is at the southwest border of the city, it was not annexed into the city until the late 1960s. A major road that serves as the northern boundary of the neighborhood, Clime Road, has segments that have yet to be annexed into the city.

Geography

Riverbend is located approximately 7 miles away from the Ohio Statehouse downtown. It is bordered by Clime road to the north, a railroad track that was formally used by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to the East, Alkire Road to the south, and Georgesville Road and

Interstate 270 (Ohio) Interstate 270 (I-270) is an auxiliary interstate highway that forms a beltway loop freeway in the Columbus metropolitan area in the US state of Ohio, commonly known locally as The Outerbelt or the Jack Nicklaus Freeway. The zero-milepos ...

to the west.

History

Riverbend was first settled as a farming community in what was at the time the small village of Columbus. The farm first settled was located on what was formally the

Virginia Military District The Virginia Military District was an approximately 4.2 million acre (17,000 km²) area of land in what is now the state of Ohio that was reserved by Virginia to use as payment in lieu of cash for its veterans of the American Revolutionary ...

by William T. Clime in 1834. Clime started a 116-acre farm on the military land, and eventually expanded the farm into a 260 land holding where he bred Poland China hogs. As the farm got passed down through the family, more and more land was acquired until William's grandson Lester owned over 400 acres of land in what is today the Riverbend neighborhood area. William Clime and the rest of the Clime family are the namesake of the northern border of the neighborhood, Clime Road. The neighborhood's southern border, Alkire Road, is named after an elected

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

, Adam Alkire, who served from 1840 to 1846 and from 1852 to 1855. Most of the neighborhood, including Big Run Park, was annexed into the city in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. There are small segments of Riverbend that lie directly south of Clime road that have yet to be annexed into the city of Columbus, and are technically part of

Franklin Township, Franklin County, Ohio Franklin Township is one of the seventeen civil township, townships of Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The United States Census, 2010, 2010 census found 10,271 people in the township, 9,651 of whom lived in the unincor ...

Landmarks and notable locations

Big Run Park

Big Run Park is located at 4201 Clime Rd Columbus, OH 43228. The Big Run Park is the largest parks in the Columbus Parks system. The park is heavily wooded and is surrounded by wetlands in the South East corner. This Columbus area park is home to the Big Run Soap Box Derby. Inside Big Run Park is the Big Run Sports Complex. The Big Run Sports Complex is an indoor facility located in the right corner of the park. The complex is home to indoor volleyball and basketball. Inside the park is located a City of Columbus Police Sub-Station. The park has 241.71 acres.

The American Legion

Riverbend is also home to the Columbus chapter of

The American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of lo ...

. The Legion is dedicated to providing temporary financial assistance to veterans. The Legion itself was chartered in 1919 by veterans. Nationwide, The Legion has over 2.4 million active members, with 14,000 locations throughout the country. The branch in Riverbend is located on 1571 Demorest Road, directly west of Big Run Park.

Post Oak Station

Post Oak Station is an affordable housing project for low income families located on 1383 Vida Way, only 2 blocks south of Clime Road. One must apply for a potential lease agreement through the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), and acceptance to be able to lease does not mean one can move in immediately, due to high demand of housing an applicant is usually expected to be placed on a wait list.

References

{{Columbus, Ohio Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio