Gillivan is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Jefferson Township

Jefferson Township, Madison County, Ohio

Jefferson Township is one of the fourteen townships of Madison County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 6,935 people in the township, 2,604 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...

, Madison County

Madison County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,213 people, 13,672 households, and 10,035 families residing in the county. The population density was 86 people per square mile . There were 14,399 housing units at an average density of 31 per square mile...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is located at 39°59′19"N 83°20′13"W, along U.S. Route 42

U.S. Route 42

U.S. Route 42 is an east–west United States highway that runs northeast-southwest for 355 miles from Cleveland, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky. The route has several names including Pearl Road from Cleveland to Medina in Northeast Ohio, the Cincinnati and Lebanon Pike in southwestern Ohio and...

, north of its intersection with Ohio State Route 29.

The community was never actually laid out, but simply formed around a crossroads. As of 1915, the community contained one general store, one hardware store, one blacksmith, and only six houses.