Founded in 1816, Sunbury developed as an Ohio stagecoach town after founder Lawrence Myers built an inn at the junction of the Old Walhonding Trail and the Delaware Newark Pike in anticipation of heavy travel. The first stagecoach arrived from Mt. Vernon in 1820, and travelers who stopped there included William Henry Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, Henry Clay, and Johnny Appleseed. As railway travel became more common, the last stagecoach left Sunbury in 1873. When the town was platted in 1816, a public square was reserved for a town hall. In 1868, the first two stories of the Town Hall were built as a school for $5,000, and the Masons added a third story for $1,500, occupying it for 91 years until a lodge was built. Since 1868, the Town Hall has served as a village office building, jail, fire station, community library, site of church services and Farmer's Institutes, and at one time a bank. In 2002, it was renovated for use as a community room and village offices.