Holloway

How Holloway began

Holloway, in Flushing Township, Belmont County, began as a rural stop called Dunvale and took the name Holloway after Monroe Dunn sold land to Isaac Holloway in 1883 and the name was chosen for the post office; Wikipedia says it was laid out that year. The Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling Railway, built to Bridgeport in 1876 and soon controlled by the Baltimore and Ohio, ran through it, and in 1901 the railroad put a roundhouse and shops there and the village incorporated, growing from about 150 to about 1,000 people. The population peaked at 974 in 1920; the last scheduled passenger train ran September 29, 1951, the shops closed in 1958 and burned in 1962, and the 2020 census counted 330. A B&O caboose stands in the village park.

Platted 1883 (laid out per Wikipedia; land bought from Monroe Dunn by Isaac Holloway), incorporated 1901, by Isaac Holloway (buyer of the land); first mayor John Barkley.

Where the name comes from

The place was first called Dunvale, for Monroe Dunn's land; in 1883 Dunn sold several acres to Isaac Holloway, and the Holloway name was chosen for the post office and then became the town's name. Overman's Ohio Town Names (cited by Wikipedia) says only that it was named for the local Holloway family, a family long prominent in Flushing Township.

Before the town

No Native village, camp, or trail specific to Holloway was found in the sources consulted, and the county histories of 1880 and 1903 consulted give no Native account for the village. The county lies in the Seven Ranges lands surveyed from 1785 after the Treaty of Fort McIntosh and ceded in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville.

Timeline

1. 1817 — Flushing Township, in which Holloway later stands, is organized; trustees Enos West, James Wright and Isaac Branson are elected, with Edward Bethel as clerk and Samuel Holloway as treasurer.
2. 1818-10-23 — The first monthly meeting of the Society of Friends, at one time the strongest denomination in the township, is established at Flushing; Isaac and Jacob Holloway are among the township's early settlers.
3. 1876 — The Cleveland, Tuscarawas Valley and Wheeling Railway (later the Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling) is built from Dennison to Bridgeport, following Wheeling Creek through Belmont County; it later reaches Bellaire and Lorain, 161 miles in all.
4. 1883 — Monroe Dunn sells several acres at the place then called Dunvale to Isaac Holloway; the Holloway name is chosen for the post office and Wikipedia says the village was laid out this year.
5. 1901 — The Baltimore and Ohio, which has gained control of the Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling, locates its roundhouse and shops at Holloway (the museum article dates the decision 1901 and the main construction 1903), judging the run from Uhrichsville to Bridgeport too long; the village incorporates, with store owner John Barkley its first mayor.
6. 1903 — With the land surveyed and construction of the shops underway, many families move in and stores, saloons, poolrooms and restaurants follow; the B&O later builds B&O Row for its supervisors.
7. 1910 — The census counts 786 people in Holloway.
8. 1920 — The population peaks at 974.
9. 1951-09-29 — The last scheduled B&O passenger train runs through Holloway.
10. 1958 — The B&O machine shop at Holloway closes.
11. 1962 — The roundhouse and machine shop burn; the fire also damages the turntable, which is never restored.
12. 2016 — A Baltimore and Ohio Railroad caboose, number C-2198, stands on display in the village park.
13. 2020 — The census counts 330 people, about a third of the 1920 peak.

Stories

A railroad town built in two years

Holloway was a hamlet of about 150 when, in 1901, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad decided to build its roundhouse and shops there. The Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling line, which had been built through Wheeling Creek country in 1876, carried millions of tons of Belmont County coal each year, and the B&O, which had won control of it within a couple of years, judged the run from Uhrichsville to Bridgeport too long for one engine crew. Holloway incorporated the same year, with store owner John Barkley as first mayor. In 1903 the land was surveyed and construction of the shops began; many families moved in, and stores, saloons, poolrooms and restaurants followed. By the time the boom had run its course the village held about a thousand people, and the B&O had built a row of houses for its supervisors.

From the last passenger train to the roundhouse fire

The village that the railroad made, the railroad unmade. The last scheduled B&O passenger train came through Holloway on September 29, 1951. As diesel locomotives replaced steam engines, the shops that had employed so many lost their reason for being, and the B&O machine shop closed in 1958. In 1962 the roundhouse and machine shop burned; the fire damaged the turntable as well, and it was never restored. A caboose, B&O number C-2198, sits in the village park as a reminder.

Photographs

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · belmontcountyheritagemuseum.org · archive.org · archive.org

Groundwater wells (2 wells) The water here

• Holloway Public Water System91% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Flushing Village9% of residentsOhio River valley aquifer (wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Bridges rated poor (1)

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2015: 7 of 7 passed.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Financial Audit, 2019 to 2021, released 2025-04-22

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

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