William Sohio

At the northeast corner of the intersection of Route 40 and Route 69 (now 235) was the location of William’s Sohio.  Walter and Bertha Williams took over the business in May of 1941.  At first they had a little restaurant inside along with their filling station but later decided it was best to put in a grocery instead.  It did a good business because of its location on the main route towards Dayton from the north and being on the National Road for travelers.  It was one of the old-timer stations where the bell would ring inside the store when a customer pulled in.  The attendant would come out and ask how much gas you want and then wash your windows and check your oil.  There were big vats of oil in storage so if a guy wanted a quart of oil the attendant would take this glass container that would have a line saying quart on it and fill it and pour it into the car.  The station had a horseshoe shaped driveway in the front with a grass area enclosed.  In this area the Williams would plant a large beds of flowers featuring the large red cannas.  Coming north on Route 69 it would look like a park as you came up to it.  The Williams kept up their Sohio station and grocery for 22 years.  When a larger store and other service stations opened a few miles south as Park Layne was developing they decided to sell their business.  It was opened for about another year before closing for good.

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