Etna Township was formed from Harrison and Lima Townships in 1833, and the village of Etna, which lies in the middle of the township, was laid out by Lyman Turrill in 1832. Formerly from Vermont, Turrill first called the village Carthage, with lots selling for $3.00 to $5.00 each, but after learning from a West Point graduate surveying the National Road that the site was the highest point between Jacksontown and Columbus, he renamed it Etna after Mount Etna on the island of Sicily in Italy. The building of the National Road, known as The Pike and officially as the Cumberland Road and U.S. Route 40, was the most important event in the history and formation of both Etna Township and Etna. In 1834, a cholera epidemic sweeping along the National Road nearly depopulated the town. In Etna, Mr. Henthorn kept a tavern whose bar room was where pioneers gathered to found the town; Henthorn's Tavern, a long two-story house, stood on the north side of the Pike about 75 yards west of the Main Street leading to Pataskala. The National Road later provided jobs and income for taverns, hotels, restaurants and, with the advent of the automobile, service stations, but the later U.S. 40 bypass reduced traffic and caused the restaurants to go out of business. More recently, Etna's development as an industrial and distribution center has been expected to bring continuing prosperity and jobs for surrounding communities.