Westerville Historical Society

10/13/2026

Join us as we close our 85th anniversary celebration at our annual meeting and program. Please RSVP for this free event.

10/12/2026

From our friends at the the Westerville History Museum.
TOMORROW: Learn about the evolution of photography from black and white film developed in darkrooms to the powerful digital cameras in each of our pockets today with Gary Gardiner, former Associated Press photo editor and today's publisher of the Westerville News and My Final Photo.

10/10/2026

From our friends at the Westerville Library.

10/10/2026

Latest edition of Westerville News with an article and pictures on the Hanby House roof replacement.

In today's WVLNEWS: Library and Hanby House Upgrades In The Works - Saturday’s Events Include Repair Cafe, Shredding, and Giving https://ggnews.link/nnl

10/07/2026

The roof on the Hanby House is being replaced. Thank you Ohio History Connection.

10/07/2026

Did you know?
During the American Revolution, an ordinary clothesline reportedly became part of George Washington's secret intelligence network.
Anna Strong lived in Setauket, New York, where members of the Culper Spy Ring secretly moved information about British forces out of occupied New York.
According to the traditional account, Strong developed an ingenious way to communicate without attracting attention.
She hung laundry outside her home.
A black petticoat on the clothesline signaled that Caleb Brewster, a Culper courier who traveled by whaleboat across Long Island Sound, had arrived.
But Abraham Woodhull, another member of the spy ring, still needed to know where to meet him.
Strong reportedly hung between one and six handkerchiefs beside the petticoat.
The number indicated which of six coves Brewster was using.
To anyone else, it looked like laundry drying in the wind.
To Washington's spies, it was a coded message telling them exactly where their courier was waiting.
The story of Strong's clothesline has been passed down through local and family tradition and is repeated by several historical institutions, although historians still debate how firmly the signaling system can be documented.

10/06/2026

From the Westerville History Museum.

is back! This month, we’ll explore the dark, spooky, or mysterious lives and deaths of people buried in Westerville’s cemeteries.

Elizabeth Cashner was buried on a gray, frigid day in January 1893. The temperature never made it out of single digits, and the skies dumped half a foot of snow on the cold, hard ground. Despite the weather, Rev. Munk gave a memorial service at the Evangelical church for the hardy souls who came to honor the widow’s life – a life that appears in only fleeting mentions in the historical record.

About a week later, the Public Opinion reported that grave robbers had attempted to dig up the grave of Elizabeth Cashner. It described, “It was found they had dug down nearly to the casket, but from indications took a hasty departure.” Perhaps the body snatchers were, like many grave robbers of that era, medical students seeking human remains for study. But in trying to make her body disappear, they ensured that her memory – or at least the memory of her death – would live on.

10/05/2026

We were proud to be part of this great America 250th project.

Say congratulations to our Outstanding Achievement Award winners!

We're so proud to honor all of these contributors to Ohio's local history!

10/01/2026

Ohio Village
Sat., Oct. 17 & 24
5:30–9:30 p.m.

All Hallows’ Eve is returning to the newly renovated Ohio Village! Come revel in historic entertainment, including fortune-telling, crafts, traditional dancing, games and a retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by the bonfire.

Enjoy an evening of 1890s-style family fun at All Hallows’ Eve, including a retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by the bonfire!

09/25/2026

The Hanby House is ready for Otterbein Homecoming, welcome back grads and families.