Big Walnut
Ghost town · Franklin County, Ohio

Big Walnut is a ghost town in Franklin County, Ohio. It is one of 13 former communities in Franklin County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 10th among the 87 Ohio counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Big Walnut as a historical populated place on the Southeast Columbus topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 39.9762° N, 82.8752° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Southeast Columbus |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 804 ft |
| Nearest living town | Whitehall, OH |
| Distance to it | 0.7 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1806771 |
| Coordinates | 39.97618, -82.87518 |
What's there now
Big Walnut is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Whitehall, OH (population 19,974), about 0.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 804 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Wonderlandghost town · Franklin County · 1.9 mi
- Doneysghost town · Franklin County · 2 mi
- Hiberniaghost town · Franklin County · 2.2 mi
- Wildwood Springsghost town · Franklin County · 7.5 mi
- Brightghost town · Franklin County · 8.1 mi
- Sharpghost town · Franklin County · 9.4 mi
- Zeller-Smith Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Fairfield County · 9.5 mi
- Hizey Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Fairfield County · 9.8 mi
- Highwayghost town · Franklin County · 10.1 mi
- Bergstresser/Dietz Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Franklin County · 10.6 mi
- Maxtownghost town · Delaware County · 11.7 mi
- Ralphghost town · Delaware County · 11.8 mi
Questions
Where is Big Walnut?
Big Walnut is in Franklin County, Ohio, at 39.9762, -82.8752.
How many ghost towns are in Franklin County?
Franklin County, Ohio has 13 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.