San Margherita is an unincorporated neighborhood directly west of Columbus, Ohio, half falling into Norwich Township and the other half in Franklin Township. The area was settled in the early 20th century by Italian immigrants working for the Marble Cliff Quarry Company. Though once a robust and rural community, San Margherita is in danger of vanishing. Many of the original homes and locally owned businesses in the neighborhood have been demolished. History San Margherita is located west of Columbus, across the Scioto River. Between 1880 and 1920, the area was populated by Italian immigrants who worked in the nearby Marble Cliff Quarry. The majority of the immigrants came from the commune of Pettorano sul Gizio in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy, where the patron Saint Margaret of Cortona became the hamlet's namesake. Originally, the quarry provided workers with shack-like homes placed along McKinley Avenue and the railroad tracks. Quarry workers who amounted enough wealth moved on to construct homes along the south side of Trabue Road. At its founding, the area was not connected to Columbus by train. As such, residents of the neighborhood kept livestock and grew some of their own produce. The community was bound together by mutual language and customs, shared work and problems, and by deep family friendships. The isolation prompted members of the neighborhood to drive for a church of their own in 1921. Thirteen local families each pledged $50 and received a land donation to begin construction. The original Saint Margaret of Cortona Church was constructed at 3388 Trabue Road. In 1936, the parish hall was built, and in 1955 the rectory finished construction. An increase in the size of the congregation prompted a need for a new church. In 1968, the new church by the same name was constructed at 1600 Hague Avenue. Twenty-eight pre-World War II homes were constructed along Trabue Rd, and post-War homes were constructed a few blocks south on Hague Avenue until the site of the new Saint Margaret of Cortona Church. Since then, the neighborhood has been in decline, with many descendants of the original residents moving to nearby neighborhoods like Grandview Heights or Marble Cliff Village. In 2003, the City of Columbus acquired three homes and three commercial properties, including a Marathon gas station and Spiro's Lounge, for demolition to widen the road and ease traffic on Trabue Road between Dublin Road