Powell Liberty Historical Society

08/31/2026

Open House in September

Powell Liberty Historical Society is pleased to announce fall open‑house tours at the Martin‑Perry House, 103 E. Olentangy Street. We’ll be open from 1–4 p.m. on the first and third Sundays beginning in September.

Step inside this restored 1889 farmhouse and explore antiques, Victorian furnishings, and local memorabilia that tell the story of Powell and Liberty Township. Admission is free.

We invite you to stop by and discover the history that makes our community unique.

08/17/2026

Celebrating 40 Years
Powell Hair Design has been a cornerstone of our community since May 1986, when Pat Petty first opened his shop upstairs in the old schoolhouse on South Liberty Street. At the time, Pat’s business became an early licensed barber shop – another milestone in our growing town.
In 2008, the shop moved to its current home at 240 N. Liberty Street in the Liberty Square center, continuing to serve generations of Powell families.

Pat sold his interests to Jason Dow and his wife Katie in 2020, but he’s still behind the chair today. Jason had already spent years working alongside Pat before their move in 2008, building the foundation of the shop’s familiar feel. In 2021, they welcomed Charlie Cox into the barbershop family, strengthening the team and helping preserve the welcoming, “old-fashioned” atmosphere customers have loved for decades.

Today, Powell Hair Design remains a place where stories are shared, friendships are made, and tradition is kept alive – a true example of the long-standing business that helps define our community.

Here’s to 40 years of service, tradition, and familiar faces in Powell.

Pat Petty & Jason Dow of Powell Hair Design

08/02/2026

Walking Tour of Downtown Powell
Speaker: Sherry Carmichael

Venue: Martin-Perry House

Address: 103 E. Olentangy St. Powell

Dates and Time:
Monday, August 17, 2026, 7:00 PM

Sherry Carmichael will lead us on a walking tour of downtown Powell. Many historic buildings will be highlighted along with interesting anecdotes about the area and Sherry's personal remembrances of growing up in "old Powell" in the 1950s and '60s. We will leave promptly at 7:00 PM from the Martin Perry House, 103 East Olentangy Street, located on Powell Road (Rt. 750) at Grace Drive. After the tour we will meet in side yard of the Martin-Perry House for ice cream and conversation.

Reservations are required for this event and will open on Monday, August 3, 2026, 8:00 AM. A link to make a reservation will be available on our website ( powellhistory.org ) at that time.

07/21/2026

SPECIAL EVENT: 40th Anniversary Open House
Speaker: PLHS Volunteers

Venue: Martin-Perry House

Address: 103 E. Olentangy St. Powell

Dates and Time:
Sunday, July 26, 2026 2:00 PM

2026 is the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Powell-Liberty Historical Society. An open house will be held from 2:00 - 5:00 PM on Sunday July 26 to celebrate the anniversary. Stop by to tour the house, speak with Board members and Volunteers, and see some of the evidence of the progress the Society has made in preserving the history of Powell and Liberty Township.

NOTE: The correct time for the Open House is 2pm until 5pm

07/16/2026

40TH ANNIVERSARY OPEN HOUSE

Tour the 1889 Martin-Perry House

103 Olentangy Street

You’re Invited! Sunday, July 26th, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Come and Celebrate with Us

Explore Victorian furnishings and local artifacts

Enjoy refreshments and conversation

Meet our volunteers

Learn about Powell and Liberty Township history

PLHS was founded in 1986 to save this historic farmhouse from demolition. Today, it stands as a reminder of Powell’s small-village roots and the rural heritage of Liberty Township.

07/08/2026

Program Announcement

Walking Tour of Downtown Powell
Speaker: Sherry Carmichael

Venue: Martin-Perry House

Address: 103 E. Olentangy St. Powell

Dates and Time:
Monday, July 20, 2026 7:00 PM

Sherry Carmichael will once again lead us on a walking tour of downtown Powell. Highlighted will be many historic buildings, interesting anecdotes, and Sherry's personal remembrances of growing up in "old Powell" in the 1950s and '60s. We will leave promptly at 7:00 PM from the Martin Perry House, 103 East Olentangy Street, located on Powell Road (Rt. 750) at Grace Drive.

Reservations are required for this event. Please use the following link or our website to make your https://powellhistory.org/Reservations/Index/203

06/23/2026

Olentangy Caverns: 91 Years of Local History Beneath Our Feet

Did you know Liberty Township’s oldest tourist attraction is nearly a century old? Olentangy Caverns, opened in 1935, sits atop a limestone system formed 350 million years ago—and wrapped in plenty of local legend.

According to early stories, the caverns were discovered when a farmer’s ox fell through a natural shaft in the early 1800s. Native American artifacts, early settler carvings, and tales of underground rivers all add to the site’s mystique.

Today the caverns, located at 1779 Home Road, reach 75 feet deep and include three public levels, plus 37 acres of family activities above ground.

As the old tour guides liked to say:
“If you’re in the area again, do like Mr. Adams’ ox did—and drop in on us.”

06/02/2026

Powell History Via a Tour of the Powell Cemetery
Speaker: Sherry Carmichael

Venue: Martin-Perry House

Address: 103 E. Olentangy St. Powell

Dates and Time:
Monday, June 15, 2026 7:00 PM

Sherry Carmichael, long time Powell resident, will lead us through the Powell Cemetery, highlighting graves of many Powell residents who played significant roles in the development of Powell. A brief introduction to the history of Powell is presented through the eyes of some of the area's key ancestors. The tour will start promptly at 7:00 PM from the Martin-Perry House, 103 East Olentangy Street which is directly across from the Grace Drive intersection at E. Olentangy St..

Reservations are required for this event. Please use the following link or our website to make your reservation. https://powellhistory.org/reservations/index/202

05/31/2026

Powell’s Memorial Day Parade

As we celebrate the Powell Liberty Historical Society’s 40th anniversary this year, we were honored to take part in the Memorial Day Parade on May 25th. A special thank you goes to long‑time resident Ron Chapin, who represented the Society in his beautifully restored 1957 Pontiac Star Chief convertible.

Ron’s connection to Powell runs deep. His family moved to Liberty Township in 1956, settling at the corner of Rutherford and Liberty Roads. The following year, his mother purchased a brand-new 1957 Pontiac Star Chief sedan—a car that sparked Ron’s lifelong admiration for the model. In 1973, he found his own ’57 convertible in a small junkyard on Smokey Row Road and spent years gathering additional cars for parts. With the skills he honed running his own body shop at that same location, Ron eventually completed the stunning restoration we see today.

Ron and his wife Jana also played a memorable role in Powell’s business history. From 1985 to 1995, they owned the Powell Food Market at the southwest corner of Olentangy Street and Liberty Road—now the Kraft House. Jana, whose father was an executive at White Castle, brought her restaurant experience to the store, where, yes, they sold White Castles (and “a lot of them,” she recalls). The market became a community hub, offering deli sandwiches, local notices, gifts and crafts on consignment, and even mailboxes and dog houses. Before the Chapins, the store had been run for 39 years by the beloved Clara Bell Langstrom. The building was owned by the International Order of Odd Fellows.

It’s said that when Clara retired, several thousand dollars in IOUs remained unpaid—a testament to her generous spirit and the small-town kindness that continues to shape Powell today.

05/07/2026

Seth Case

As we celebrate our country’s 250th Anniversary, Liberty Township can claim several Revolutionary War veterans including, Seth Case, who settled here in 1810. Seth was born in Simsbury, Connecticut in 1749 and was 27 in 1776 when he answered the call to arms and served as a private in the Connecticut State Militia under Captain Benjamin Mills. In 1777, Case was promoted to First Sergeant by commanding officer Colonel Rodger Enos of the First Battalion raised for the defense of the State of Connecticut.

None of the Revolutionary War soldiers received pensions until 1832, but Congress in 1796 offered bounty lands in Ohio. The United States Military District Lands comprised 12 counties in central Ohio, including Delaware County. James Kilbourne, a land speculator and founder of Worthington, offered 4000 acres of that land at $2.00 per acres to members of the Union Land Company of which Seth Case and other men from Simsbury were members. In 1806 Seth Case bought 300 acres along the west side of the Olentangy River, then known as the Whetstone River, on the north side of Powell Road. His brother George purchased 150 acres on the south side of Powell Road. In 1808 a road was opened from Columbus to Delaware along the west side of the Olentangy, which further encouraged Seth Case and family to move to Liberty Township in 1810.

In 1813, three years after settling in Liberty Township, Seth Case died suddenly at age 63 of a stroke. He was buried on his family farm, but the exact location of his grave is unknown. When The Retreat subdivision was built in the mid –1970's the tombstone of Seth's son John was found along with remains of Seth’s wife Eunice and his two sons who all died of “bilious fever” within days of each other in 1821. All the remains unearthed were placed in a common grave in the Liberty Presbyterian Church Cemetery. In July 2005 Richard Converse, 4th great grandson of Seth Case, after many years of research and letter writing, was responsible for placing a grave marker honoring Seth Case’s Revolutionary War service in the Liberty Presbyterian Church Cemetery.