I was trying to find something about Westerville's history and ended up on the Westerville Libraries website.
Westerville has such an interesting history, the Underground Railroad, the temperance movement and the Whisky Wars including the Anti-Saloon League...
Sometimes I think Westerville has a much more colorful history in many ways than some of it's Central Ohio neighbors.
What I was looking for about Westerville was.... I was thinking Westerville was having a birthday. I keep thinking that Dublin and Westerville are the same age.... I thought Worthington was settled in 1803 and Dublin and Westerville were settled in 1810. I was wrong. I guess Westerville's first white settlers arrived in 1806. The Westervelt's arrived in 1816 and got the city named after them.
Dublin Ohio is celebrating it's bicentennial in 2010
Trying to find Westerville's history I found the Westerville Libraries history.
The Westerville Library was not born until 1930
It turns out the Westerville library was born from the temperance movement or had a strong connecton anyway...
"From its beginnings on the first floor of the residence of Purley Baker, temperance leader in the Anti-Saloon League, the Westerville Public Library has been dedicated to meeting the expanding needs of the community. On December 15, 1930, the library opened with Cora Bailey as Librarian, and within several weeks it contained 3,062 volumes and 885 registered borrowers. Within two years, increased books and patrons created the need to move to the second floor of the municipal building which is today a part of the municipal complex on State Street. The library's newly remodeled three rooms included four tables in the main reading room, a "junior" reading room, and a room for processing and repairing books. From the library's inception, educational programming was important. Programs celebrating National Book Week were held, a children's story hour was established and a tour of the library for first graders was initiated, which still happens today."
Today the Anti-Saloon League and the Westerville Library are still linked. The Anti-Saloon League site is on the Westerville Libraries website.
According to the Anti-Saloon League website that organization was active from 1893 to 1933.
Happy belated birthday Westerville!
Westerville today
Westerville is the BEST place to live in Ohio
Westerville homes for sale - a recent real estate market report
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