On September 8, 1803, the year Ohio became a state, the Associate Judges of Franklin County ordered construction of a road leading from the Public Square in Franklinton to Springfield in Greene County. This route became known as the Old State Road or Ludlow's Road. On this spot in the summer of 1822, the Village of New Hampton was laid out with the road as its Main Street. New Hampton was the forerunner of West Jefferson, but it fell into oblivion eight to nine years later when West Jefferson was developed along the National Road. All that remains of New Hampton is the cemetery and this part of the road.