Marysville, Ohio

Marysville is the county seat of Union County, Ohio. Samuel W. Cuthbertson founded the town in 1816. He named the community after his daughter Mary. The town grew slowly, having 360 residents in 1843. By 1846, the town included two churches, one private school, one newspaper office, and three stores.

Over the next forty years, Marysville grew dramatically, having a population of 2,832 residents in 1890. In 1888, two newspapers, six churches, three banks, and numerous manufacturing businesses existed in the town. The community’s largest employer was Isaac Half, a furniture manufacturer, with forty-two employees. Most businesses provided services or products for farmers living in the surrounding countryside. By 1888, Marysville had earned the nickname “the Shaded City,” due to all of the maple trees lining the community’s streets.

Today, Marysville is an important center of manufacturing. In 1979, Honda of America opened its first plant in Marysville. Over the years Honda of America’s Marysville facility has grown tremendously. It now employs approximately 13,000 people at four separate manufacturing locations near Marysville. The plants are capable of producing most types of Honda motor vehicles—from dirt bikes to cars to trucks. In 2000, Honda of America was Marysville’s largest employer of the city’s 15,942 residents.