Plain City's Santa Spends Most of December at an 1880s Rail Depot

The building at 134 Church Street was built in Brice, Ohio, for the Shawnee and Columbus Railway. In 2004 it was moved to Northwest Columbus, where Barry Fromm rebuilt and restored it, keeping its original wooden walls and ceilings. In 2024 it was taken apart, carried to Plain City on a semi-truck by Dingey Movers of Zanesville, and rebuilt at the corner of East Bigelow Avenue and Church Street. This December, no address on the Village holiday calendar has more events.

The Village of Plain City's 2026 holiday schedule lists five Santa appearances. One is at Ace Hardware on Route 42 and one is at the tree lighting in the Uptown District. The other three are at The Depot at Public Square, which also holds Santa's mailbox for 19 days. Christmas Under the Clock is still the evening that opens the season. Most of the weeks around it run through the depot.

The Corner Was Public Square Long Before the Depot

The depot's location was chosen for its history. Plain City maps from 1862 and 1875 label this corner "Public Square." It was the original site of the village's town hall, fire department, school and other early civic buildings. Plain City's own depot was torn down in the 1960s, after passenger service ended in the 1940s. The last train came through the village on July 17, 1986.

The replacement depot opened with a community celebration on June 13, 2025, which completed the first phase of the Public Square project. A splash pad followed and opened in August 2026. This is the depot's second December as a holiday venue. Last year, Santa's Station there ran on Dec. 3 and Dec. 17. This year the depot has two Santa nights, a separate pet evening and the Santa mailbox, so the building is in use for most of the stretch between Thanksgiving week and mid-December.

The Season, Sorted by Address

Christmas Under the Clock is a single three-hour evening. The depot's events start Nov. 23 and run through Dec. 11, and three of them are evenings with Santa in person.

The Tree Lighting Starts With a Coloring Page

The two Uptown locations are tied together by a contest that closes before either one gets busy. The Village's coloring contest opened Nov. 2 and runs in three age divisions: 5 and under, 6 to 8, and 9 to 10. The winner in each division becomes one of Santa's Christmas Pixies and helps light the Plain City Christmas Tree on Dec. 5.

Entries are due Nov. 22 at 5 p.m. There are three ways to turn one in:

• In person at the Municipal Building during regular hours
• In the building's 24-hour night deposit box
• By mail to the Village of Plain City, c/o Coloring Contest, 800 Village Blvd., Plain City, OH 43064

You can download the page from the Village site or pick up a printed copy at the Municipal Building. The same building runs a quieter program the next day. Starting Nov. 23, it has marked bins for free holiday light recycling through Jan. 4, open around the clock. Strands go in loose, not in bags or boxes.

December 5 Runs From Route 42 to the Clock

The Saturday of the tree lighting covers both ends of the village:

1. 9 a.m. to noon, Route 42 Holiday Hop. Businesses along Route 42 offer holiday discounts, giveaways, treats and activities. Ace Hardware at 625 West Main Street hosts Santa for the morning.
2. 4 to 7 p.m., Christmas Under the Clock. In the Uptown District, the Christmas Pixies help light the tree, Santa arrives, the Starlight Twirlers perform, and there are carriage rides, food vendors and holiday music. The Village also asks visitors to stop into Uptown businesses for deals that evening.

The Village named its Uptown merchants for the Spring Into Uptown Plain City shopping week, held March 8 to 14. That week included New Grounds Coffee House at 135 E. Main St. and Drink Up at 179 E. Main St., which were also the two places to pick up stamp cards. Other participants were The Clocktower Kitchen + Bar, Front Porch Home, Hammer & Stain Plain City, Mainstreet Treasures, Sweet Dreams Salt Therapy Ohio, Artistry Beauty, Main Street Nails and the Plain City Public Library. The Clocktower Kitchen + Bar is in the 1902 Clocktower Building at 101 S. Chillicothe Street, so it sits beside the tree lighting.

Small Business Saturday comes a week earlier, on Nov. 28. The Village is promoting it as a day to shop at Plain City businesses for the rest of the season.

Three Evenings at the Depot

The depot has 1,473 square feet of space, about the size of a modest house. Each event there has its own rules.

Santa's Station, Dec. 7 and Dec. 10, 5 to 7 p.m. Visits are free, no registration is needed, and children are seen first come, first served. The last child must be in line by 7 p.m. The Village suggests bringing your own camera.

Pet photos with Santa, Dec. 8, 5 to 7 p.m. Admission is free, but you must register in advance. Pets pose next to Santa, not on his lap. They must be well socialized, current on vaccinations and on a leash, and owners are responsible for behavior and cleanup. Animals that seem stressed or aggressive will be asked to leave.

Letters to Santa, Nov. 23 to Dec. 11. A special mailbox at the depot collects letters, and no postage is needed. Every child who drops off a letter by 5 p.m. on Dec. 11 gets a reply from the North Pole. Include a return address for a personalized letter.

The decorating contest ends on the same corner of the calendar. Entries are due Dec. 8 at 5 p.m., the same evening as the pet photos, and decorations must be up by then. To enter, email [email protected] with your name, address and phone number. Home and business categories each pay $75 for first place, $50 for second and $25 for third.

What the Square Is Built to Hold Next

The Village describes Public Square as a project built in phases over several years. The planned Marketplace at Public Square would turn an existing historic building into an indoor space for seasonal vendors, small businesses and community events. The Village's list of possible uses includes a year-round farmers market, a holiday market and a winter ice rink. Those phases will move forward as funding becomes available. The project's conceptual renderings include a holiday concept for the square, and the Village notes that all of the renderings are preliminary.

The square also has a railroad piece still waiting for its spot. The Village bought a 1949 Chesapeake & Ohio caboose that had stood for more than three decades at Mr. Tree Christmas Tree Farm in Blacklick. It plans to move the caboose to Public Square after restoration. In April 2025 it was repainted in C&O's "Enchantment Yellow."

For the rest of the season, the same holiday page lists the local drives collecting donations: Carly's Sock Drive, the Plain City Daily Needs Assistance Toy Drive, the Plain City Food Pantry, Santa for Seniors, and Santa Danny for Dogs. The Pastime Park drive-through display stays lit nightly until 11 p.m. through Jan. 3, 2027, with music synced on 89.5 FM.

The depot spent about two decades in Northwest Columbus before it came to Plain City, and Debbie Parris works across both places. She tracks how projects like Public Square change daily life around them. If you live near Uptown and want to know what your home is worth this season, Request Your Free Home Valuation.