James Loren by Mary Rodgers

James M. Loren, with his wife Annabel, and his partner Herman Dennison platted the North Broadway subdivision.  James was born, November 20, 1849, on a farm in Plain Township Ohio.  He was the son of Jeremiah and Charity (Montgomery) Loren.  There is evidence of at least one sibling, a sister, Eva Rose.

In 1852, the family moved to Sunbury Ohio.  James worked on the family farm and attended the local school.  Ultimately, at age nineteen, he became a teacher.   

While in Sunbury, James met Annabel McMillen.  In 1878, James and Annabel married and set up residence in a home located at the corner of King Avenue and N. High Street in Columbus, Ohio.  It is likely that home still exists and is located at 26 W. King Ave.

During their marriage, James and Annabel had two children, a daughter Mary (married to Walter Jeffery - she died in 1904) and a son James McMillen Loren Jr. (graduate of the Ohio State University and the United States Navel Academy.) 

The senior James Loren was a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason.  The Masons are a long-lived organization whose history is the premise of many of today’s movies and fictional writings.  When a Master Mason receives the Thirty-Second Degree, he dons the black satin headgear of the Scottish Rite and is elevated to an order of Masonic Knighthood.   So, our James M. Loren is a Knight.  Interestingly, the black satin headgear used by the Masons is adorned by the double-headed eagle. That symbol appears throughout the world and is in local architecture (the chandeliers of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Athenaeum, etc.)  In Mason history it is seen as the union between the masculine and feminine principles in the individual.

The Development of James Loren’s Career

When Loren first arrived in Columbus, Ohio, in 1873, he was a piano and organ salesman employed by C. H. Walker and Company.  In 1877, he transitioned to real estate and studied law in the office of Judge J.W. Baldwin.  In 1880, he was admitted to the bar by the Ohio Supreme Court. 

In 1890, the same time E. North Broadway Street is platted, Loren was Chairman of the Franklin County Republican Committee.  He was also twice elected as the President of the Columbus Board of Public Works.  In 1891 the traffic situation on High Street reached a crisis, with the roadway blocked for up to seven hours per day by crossing trains.  During Loren’s service on that Board, he was responsible for building the High Street viaduct and the third and final Union Station.  The creation of the viaduct allowed carriages to travel on an elevated road above the train tracks. That in turn allowed for the rail system to be further expanded.   In 1890, the population of the City of Columbus was stated at 88,150.   By 1893, Union Station was handling 112 passenger trains per day.

During his career, Loren developed several real estate venues including but not limited to: North Broadway, Dennison Place, Dennison Summit, Dennison Park, Clinton Place, Fourteenth Avenue Addition, Indianola University Addition, The King G. Thompson Chittenden Avenue Subdivision, The Anne E. Dennison North High Street Addition and the J. M. Loren’s subdivision.

Interestingly, Loren also purchased land in Indian River; a small town located in Cheboygan county Michigan, and platted a clubhouse known as Columbus Beach.  Columbus Beach is named for Columbus Ohio - the home of many families who use the beach as a vacation destination.