Hilltop, Columbus, Ohio

Hilltop USA is a geographic area of Columbus, Ohio on the west side of the city. It was so named because it sits atop a rise that slopes down into the Scioto River. Highland West, Wilshire Heights and Westgate are included within the Greater Hilltop area. It borders on Franklinton. The "Greater Hilltop Area" (as defined by the City of Columbus) is bounded by I-70 on the north, B & O Railway to the east and south, and the I-270 Outerbelt on the south and west. The Hilltop includes part or all of ZIP Codes 43204, 43223, 43228, and 43123. Its main thoroughfares are West Broad Street (U.S. Route 40) -- upon which two welcome signs for the neighborhood sit (one near I-70 and one near Wilson Road) -- Mound Street, and Hague Avenue.

History

The Hilltop was originally known as Sullivant's Hill. The property was slowly sold to other owners by the Sullivant family who had originally settled there after family patriarch Lucas Sullivant was given the land for his service to the federal government as a surveyor near the end of the 18th century. Sullivant Avenue is now a major road in the area. Hilltop was once the site of the Columbus State Hospital for the Insane. Groundbreaking for the massive, Victorian structure was presided over by then-governor Rutherford B. Hayes in 1870; construction took an additional seven years to complete. The hospital remained in service until the late 1980s, despite falling into severe disrepair. It was demolished in 1997 and new Ohio Department of Transportation and Ohio Department of Public Safety facilities were built near its former location. Four patient cemeteries of the Columbus State Hospital still exist in Hilltop.

Demographics

According to the Columbus Department of Development, as of 2000, the population of the Hilltop was 79.6% White, 13.1% Black or African American, 4.7% Hispanic, 1.8% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Hawaiian Islander, 2.7% from two or more races, and 2.2% were some other race. The population was 66,092.

Neighborhoods

These neighborhoods fall within the Greater Hilltop Area:

• Highland West
• Wilshire Heights
• Brookshire
• Westgate

Notable people from Hilltop

• Former State Representative Dan Stewart
• Basketbal Player Michael Redd
• Former Columbus Mayor Jack Sensenbrenner
• Nancy Wilson (singer)
• Former Columbus City Council President Michael C. Mentel
• CNN Correspondent Joe Johns
• Gary L. Baker, II - Columbus Board of Education Member
• Howard Jones lead singer for metalcore band Killswitch Engage

External links

• Forgotten Ohio: The Columbus Mental Hospital Cemeteries. Includes pictures and history of State Hospital for the Insane, as well as surviving cemeteries.

Other references

• http://www.nbc4i.com
• http://www.dispatch.com/
• http://www.10tv.com
• http://www.theghac.com
• http://www.hilltopbusinessassociation.org
• http://www.wilshireheightsohio.org
• http://www.ghalarts.org