Who Was Mary Cross— the Humble Woman Behind Marysville Road? The long-anticipated grand opening of the North-South Connector that connects the intersection of CR 850 East/ Cooper Road with CR 875 East to the north of Oak Street—complete with bookend roundabouts (RABs)—is being celebrated by residents and town officials alike. Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Courtesy of SullivanMunce Cultural Center
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have been covering the progress of this project since former Mayor Tim Haak commenced the road project during his administration. The project had been in the town’s transportation plan since 1983 and was officially opened to the public on Sept. 15, 2021. The stretch of road that runs north of Oak Street (CR 875 East)] to Whitestown Road was renamed Marysville Road after the town of Zionsville and Mayor Emily Styron posted a road-naming opportunity, seeking input from
the community to name of the newly constructed roadway segment.
OFFICIALLY DUBBED MARYSVILLE ROAD When the announcement was made that the new roadway segment would be dubbed “Marysville Road,” there were numerous conversations and posts on social media inquiring about who Mrs. Cross was and why a road would be named after her. So, I contacted the SullivanMunce Cultural Center to get more of the story behind Mary Cross.
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Cynthia Young, executive director of the SullivanMunce Cultural Center, supplied me with this historical data: “David Hoover came to Boone County in 1824 with his wife, Rebecca, and their three children, Jacob, Isaac, and Mary, more commonly known as ‘Polly.’ They settled at the junction of Big Eagle and Little Eagle creeks, the first to create a farm there. Hoover slowly amassed land, including that which would become Zionsville. Boone County was established in 1830, and Hoover was elected to be
SEPTEMBER 2021
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