RICHWOOD -- Say "Richwood," and most people think of the community's Presbyterian church, flea market or truck stop off Interstates 71 - 75.

The three "institutions" have helped put the unincorporated community on the map, so to speak.

Indicative of how loosely defined this community is, the 5,000-plus residents here have Florence, Union or Walton zip codes. And the boundaries are generally considered: Frogtown Road to the north, the Boone-Kenton county line to the east, Chambers Road to the south and Richwood Church Road to the west.

Because there is no comprehensive history of Richwood, there's no consensus on when it was born.

According to data provided BY Susan Cabot, Boone County's Historic Preservation Officer, the area was settled around 1880. The data from that era says Richwood has "great promise of making a prosperous and important town when the railroad now (being built) shall have reached it."

At that time, Richwood had among its ranks: one steam saw and gristmill, a church, public school, general store, two blacksmiths and a population of 50.

Most of the earlier promise predicted for Richwood is just now starting to occur. The interchange at I-71 - 75 -- considered BY many to be the heart of the community -- features a plethora of fast-food restaurants, gas stations, a bank and hotels.

"Once when there was a railroad station here, I suppose in those days it was much more centered on things. It was a pretty important stop for the traders in the area," said Dr. James Huey, president of the board overseeing the Richwood Cemetery on Richwood Road.

"I wouldn't call it a town. I'd just say it's a conglomeration of business. It's just more of a location than anything else. Everything that's there now sprung up since I-71/75 was built."

More than interchange

Perched in the southeast corner of Boone County, Richwood really is more than the interchange. It's a growing community of rolling hills and farmland that still offers a taste of serenity.

"I love the peace of this setting," said the Rev. Jean Frable, newly installed pastor at Richwood Presbyterian Church. "But the growth here is tremendous."

Mrs. Frable, a Louisville native who lives in Aurora, Ind., is the first woman pastor of the church, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dick Davis, 56, a member of the church, said the holy institution is the center of the community. Church membership has increased due to the area's new subdivisions, which comprise most of Richwood's population, he said.

"The older people (at the church) enjoy the new people coming in," Mr. Davis said.

Mr. Davis, who has lived in Richwood since he was 8, said he and his wife, Ruth, decided to raise their eight children here because the community is very liveable.

"We know just about everybody in the area. It's a nice area out here, where there's still a lot of farmland," said Mr. Davis, a bus driver for Ryle High School in Union. "We found that this is the nicest place in Boone County to raise our children and to send them to school. We just like the convenience of the area and the nice people in the area."

Mr. Davis remembers growing up in Richwood and how neighbors would meet at Robinson Grocery Store, then located on U.S. 25, and have friendly conversations. The store closed in the late 1960s. "When we first came out here, it was the only place to get some groceries," said Mr. Davis, the oldest of six children.

Before Mike Stallings and his brother Mark purchased the Richwood Flea Market about 13 years ago, Mike said whenever he thought of Richwood, the flea market was the first -- and only -- thing that came to mind.

"Prior to all of the retail development in the area, this was the only place to shop out here," he said. "We're still the place to get the deals and bargains."

The Stallings purchased the flea market from the owners of the Burley Tobacco Warehouse, which became the flea market in the late 1970s. "As tobacco began to decline, then they (the owners) decided to go to a full-time flea market year-round," Mike Stallings said.

"We had discussed a name change a while back, but because we are Richwood, we feel it's a real brand identity for us. We kind of like that recognition," he said. The flea market also hosts benefits, fund raisers and car and motorcycle shows.

Dr. Huey predicts Richwood will continue to grow. "I think it's the location (at) I-71 - 75, and you have the distance from Cincinnati. It has everything right for growth. And you also have the industrial sites now opening on U.S. 25. We have several big industries there already."

Business moving in

A-Carb LLC, the American subsidiary of a French firm, is the newest company to move into the Richwood Industrial Park. Officials will soon begin construction of a $31 million, 50,000-square-foot carbon brake plant. It hopes to be finished BY sometime next year. The plant will employ 61 people, and ultimately the project could create 150 to 200 additional jobs.

Boone County Judge-executive Larry Burcham said the addition of A-Carb is "part of a good thing" for Richwood.

"We're talking 60-something employees in there BY early spring; a $30 million dollar investment there with salaries in excess of $30,000. It's just another part of what is already transpired in Richwood. There is so much going up there. So I think this is just part of the whole scheme," he said.

"I truthfully would like to see, at some point, Richwood have its own post office or own address. It's a spot where all three (Walton, Florence and Union) of those addresses join. I don't think that's unrealistic to expect. It's an area that evolved from the outer edges of those other three communities," Mr. Burcham said.

Mr. Davis agreed. "We want to have our own identity. We don't live in Walton. We don't live in Florence. The people in this area are so proud of Richwood," he said.

Ms. Cabot said although Richwood never developed as a full-fledged town, "like many other communities, (residents here) are very loyal to their area. And people today will tell you they live in Richwood."

R.C. Durr, 79, of Richwood Road, has lived here 19 years. He raises cattle and horses on his farm. "I like the community. It's a nice place to live," said Mr. Durr, who attends Richwood Presbyterian Church.

"It's handy. It's convenient. It's still a quiet community. It's not too far from the places you need to get to. And (it has) wonderful people," he said.

Mr. Burcham says anyone who thinks Richwood is just the "four-way intersection of I-75" is mistaken.

"It's a desirable place. Any place that's desirable, people want to be a part of," Mr. Burcham said.