Rome is a crossroads. State Route 45 and US Route 6 cross in Rome Township, and almost everything here sits within sight of that intersection. There is no downtown in the usual sense — no block of storefronts, no square — but there is a fire station, a park, a small commercial park and a bowling alley, and between them they cover most of what a rural township needs.

The ZIP code is 44085, and the township shares its northern end with part of Roaming Shores, the lake community that straddles the Rome and Morgan township line. Rock Creek is west, Jefferson is north, Orwell and the Amish farms are south. For anyone living out here the 45 and 6 corner is the closest thing to a town centre, and a fair number of people pass through it twice a day.

The Corner of 45 and 6

Rome Fire Department sits on US Route 6 just off the intersection, a volunteer department covering the township. Next to it is the park with the splash pad, which in a township this size is a genuine community asset — it is where the kids end up all summer, and it is the reason the corner has any foot traffic at all on a July afternoon.

Across Route 6 from the station is J & S Heating & Cooling at 3212, handling furnaces and air conditioning for Rome and the townships around it. The Wright Place BP is the fuel and convenience stop, and in a township with no grocery store it moves more milk and bread than a gas station normally would.

The Commercial Park on Route 45

A short way north on Route 45, three of Rome’s best-known businesses share one small commercial park and the lot next door.

Rome Ohio Cross Training is the gym — for a lot of people in Rome, Rock Creek and the Grand Valley district it is simply the only indoor place to work out. McGinty’s Irish Pub is in the same building at 5324, with food, drinks and a regular crowd. Next door at 5334 is Grand Valley Lanes & Indoor Golf, where league nights carry a serious share of the township’s winter social calendar and the golf simulators extend the season for anyone not willing to drive to Geneva in February.

Three businesses in one place does not sound like much until you consider that Rome Township has no stoplight. A gym, a pub and a bowling alley within a hundred yards of each other is a functioning night out without leaving the township.

Health Care at the Crossroads

The Primary Health Network clinic at 5266 State Route 45, just north of the fire station, is a federally qualified health center — sliding-scale fees, and no requirement to walk in insured. Family medicine this far out matters more than it sounds. The alternative is a twenty-minute drive to Jefferson or forty to Ashtabula, and for an older patient without a car that is the difference between going and not going.

Roaming Shores

Lake Roaming Rock sits just up the road, and a good share of Rome Township business comes off it. The lake is about 550 acres with roughly 22 miles of shoreline, built in 1966 and 1967, and the village of Roaming Shores around it holds about 1,600 people. That means seasonal demand for contractors, docks, landscaping, septic and marine work, and more evening trade at the pub and the lanes than the township’s own population would support.

Schools

Rome Township has no school district of its own. Children here attend school in the surrounding districts, which is the usual arrangement for an unincorporated community this size.

Find a Rome Business

The listings above cover Rome and Rome Township in the 44085 ZIP code. It is a short list, and that reflects the size of the place rather than a gap in effort — but if you run a business here and you are not on this page, you can add your listing free.

More to See Around Rome

Riverdale Road and Windsor Mills covered bridges are both close by, and several of the county’s farms and wineries sit along Route 534 and Route 45 within a few minutes of the crossroads.