Marne, OH

Marne is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Madison Township, in eastern Licking County. It lies in the valley of the Licking River, with Ohio State Route 16 forming the southern edge of town. Newark, the county seat, is about five miles west; the same road runs northeast toward Coshocton, roughly 32 miles away. The 2020 population was 772. Those distances give Marne a practical orientation: a small settlement set within the river valley, with a direct road to a larger county center and a longer route toward east-central Ohio.

The Licking River is the defining physical feature, shaping the lowland around the community and tying Marne to the broader watershed. Madison Township’s early farm economy grew from the river and its tributaries, and later canals and rail lines helped connect the township to the region. Marne today remains a small place within that older pattern of water, roads, and agricultural land. Its name may appear on the map as a CDP, but the local picture is more grounded: homes, township roads, river-bottom country, and the steady traffic along Route 16.