Waynesville, Ohio has been dubbed one of the most walkable communities in America and the Antique Capitol of the Midwest. This historic village awaits your footsteps no matter if it’s summer, fall, winter, or spring.
The quaint small town is like none other. It’s like an endless outdoor shopping mall set in the 1800s with character galore. Each little building or shop has a history, rich in Quaker heritage and Victorian architecture. The five-block “Old Main Street” is lined with more than 70 Mom & Pop shops featuring a wide array of antiques, crafts, custom woodworking, collectibles, eateries, coffee houses, and specialty shops. Whether it’s the middle of winter or a hot summer day, it’s always buzzing with pedestrians on a shopping binge.
Waynesville offers visitors a nostalgic experience. Many storefronts have had folks peaking through the looking glass since the 1800s. Copper street lamps on brick sidewalks frame the many restored Victorian homes turned into shops with colorful window boxes and street-side benches.
Merchants are often seen unloading their trucks with their newest (or oldest) additions to their inventory coming from estate sales nation and even worldwide. Whether a customer falls in love with a piece from a far-off or nearby place, you may hear comments said aloud like, “This completes…” Whether shopping with purpose, merely browsing or just looking for a nice place to take a stroll, Waynesville is the place to slow roll a day away.
The cute town is littered with special events across the calendar: There’s the Old Main Street Antique Show in May and September, The Ohio Renaissance Festival from August to October, the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival in October, and Christmas in the Village in December to name some.
Visitors may pick up a self-guided walking tour brochure or make an appointment with a local historian and official Towne Crier to undertake an in-depth historical tour featuring tales of its famous haunts during the strolls on Main Street and the Quaker Historic District.
By Frank Rocco Satullo, The OhioTraveler, Your Tour Guide to Fun.
