Fremont Turnpike Motel – Then & Now

My travels take me to Fremont once in a while, and I’ve noticed this motel, located just a little south of the Ohio Turnpike interchange just off State Route 53, for some time. Despite the modern sign (and unusual name that makes a proofreader cringe), I figured the motel had been there for decades.

Sure enough, there were several vintage postcards of the motel – originally known as Fremont Turnpike Motel – on eBay. I think I have the postcards in order, judging by the size of the trees and shrubs, as well as the information on the backs.

The final postcard has an updated sign, with the poles that support the current sign of the renamed motel.

And as a bonus, here’s a 1964 aerial view of the motel from Dennis Thompson’s favorite website, VintageAerial.com, as well as a modern Google Maps view showing two motel competitors right behind it.

So who were the fine people behind the Fremont Turnpike Motel? The earliest postcards reveal the owners as Gil and Betty Logsdon.

At the time of Betty’s passing in October 2004, her Fremont, Ohio obituary noted, “On May 25, 1946, she was married to Gilbert Logsdon at Immaculate Conception. Her husband died in 1983.

“She and her husband developed, owned and operated the Fremont Turnpike Motel.”

The Logsdons sure picked a good place for their motel business and obviously built it well. The motel is still going strong, providing an economical/no-frills lodging alternative to the more expensive Hampton Inn Suites and Holiday Inn Express located nearby.