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Timeline of Worthington History
This timeline was prepared for the Worthington Bicentennial with assistance from Jennie McCormick
c. 8000 BC —
c. 500 BC 		Ohio Archaic hunter-gatherers follow rivers in seasonal migrations. +
c. 2000 BC —
c. 1000 BC 		Worthington Stone ax from this time period discovered in 1989 near creek west of Wilson Hill School.
c. 800 BC —
c. 100 AD 		Ohio Adena culture: Miamisburg Mound built -- the largest conical burial mound in the state of Ohio and possibly in the eastern U.S. +
  Columbus and Central Ohio Mound Street commemorates Adena mounds destroyed near Franklin County Courthouse. Adena mound still standing at Highbanks Metro Park.
  Worthington Adena mounds on Plesenton Drive constructed.
  Columbus and Central Ohio Adena mounds at Highbanks Metro Park.
c. 100 BC —
c. 400 AD 		Ohio "Hopewell culture expands Adena mound-building tradition with ceremonial structures and effigy mounds along the Miami, Little Miami, Scioto, and Muskingum Rivers and their tributaries. Hopewell earthworks were larger and were made in many different shapes. They built earthen enclosures in the shapes of circles, squares, octagons, parallel lines, and other forms." +
  Columbus and Central Ohio Newark and Chillicothe Hopewell earthworks are among the most extensive in the country.
  Worthington Rectangular and semi-circular earthworks erected around Adena mound on Plesenton Drive.
c. 600 —
c. 1200 		Ohio Late Woodland culture: The people that archaeologists call Late Woodland seem to be the descendants of the Hopewell culture. However, for reasons that are not yet clearly understood, they did not continue their ancestors' habit of building large geometric earthworks or of importing exotic raw materials such as obsidian and mica. ^
  Columbus and Central Ohio Earthworks at Highbanks Metro Park constructed, possibly as fortifications.
   1670    Ohio French explorer LaSalle discovers the Ohio River. +
   1674    Ohio French map first depicts the Ohio River and credits its discovery to LaSalle.
c. 1730 —
c. 1750 		Ohio "Wyandot, Mingo, Ottawa, Delaware, Shawnee and Miami Indians establish several villages throughout Ohio."
  Columbus and Central Ohio The southern of two known Mingo towns was located within present day Columbus.
   1745    Ohio British fort erected on Sandusky Bay. +
   1748    Ohio Ohio Land Company formed, plans to colonize Ohio. +
   1772    Ohio David Zeisberger and other Moravian missionaries establish Schoenbrunn mission. +
   1774 October 10    Ohio Battle at Point Pleasant was most intense battle between whites and Indians ever fought along the Ohio River.
   1782    Ohio "Ninety-six Delaware Indians, all peaceable Christians, are slaughtered at Gnadenhutten, the last atrocity by frontiersmen against Indians during the American Revolution." +
  Worthington Colonel William Crawford, after leading a failed campaign against Indians allied with the British, is captured, tortured, and killed by the Delawares. +
   1783    Ohio Treaty of Paris ends Revolutionary War -- Ohio Valley ceded to emerging United States +
   1785    Ohio Land Ordinance of 1785 -- townships organized in Ohio. +
  Ohio Northwest Ordinance establishes government for Ohio Territory. +
   1787 July 13    Ohio "Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance to establish government for the Northwest Territory, a region that includes the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin."
   1788 April 7    Ohio "Forty-eight members of the Ohio Company's advance party land at junction of Muskingum and Ohio Rivers to establish Marietta, the first permanent European-American settlement in Ohio." +
   1789    Ohio Fort Washington erected at present-day Cincinnati. +
   1794 August 20    Ohio "General "Mad" Anthony Wayne defeats Blue Jacket's force of more than 1,000 warriors at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, destroying Indian power in Ohio." +
   1795 August 3    Ohio Indian representatives sign Treaty of Greenville, surrendering all Ohio lands east and south of a line from Ft. Laurens to Ft. Laramie to Ft. Recovery, losing all but one quarter of Ohio. +
   1796    Ohio Town of Cleveland platted by Moses Cleveland. +
  Ohio Zane's Trail, Ohio's first formal road, is completed from Adams County to Jefferson City. +
   1796 June 1    Ohio Congress establishes a U.S. Military District to satisfy land claims of Revolutionary War veterans. This includes the northern half of the future Franklin County. Ebenezer Zane improves Indian trails to construct Ohio's first "road" connecting the upper Ohio River at Wheeling with Aberdeen in Adams County. +
   1797    Columbus and Central Ohio Lucas Sullivant surveys and founds the town of Franklinton on the west bank of the Scioto River. He is accompanied by Arthur Boke, the first African-American living in the Columbus area. *
   1799    Ohio First Northwest Territory legislature meets in Cincinnati. +
   1800    Ohio Harrison Land Act makes possible the sale of land west of the Muskingum to individuals at $2 per acre. +
  National Indiana Territory separates from Ohio. +
  Ohio Connecticut releases claim to land in northeast Ohio known as the Western Reserve. +
   1802    Worthington On Thomas Worthington's advice, the Scioto Company purchases 16,000 acres of land -- the western half of Sharon Twp. -- for $1.25 per acre.
   1802 April 30    Ohio President Jefferson signs Enabling Act for Ohio statehood.
   1802 May 5    Worthington "The Scioto Company organizes at Granby, Conn."
   1802 August 4    Worthington James Kilbourne and Nathaniel Little leave Connecticut to look at available lands. After exploring southern Franklin Co. and the Pickaway Plains, they return to Connecticut without having seen the land they would eventually purchase.
   1802 August 4 —
   1802 September 20 		Worthington James Kilbourn and Nathaniel Little travel from Connecticut to Ohio to look at land available for the Scioto Company purchase.
   1802 November 1 —
   1802 November 29 		Ohio Thirty-five elected delegates meet at Chillicothe to write Ohio's first constitution.
   1802 December 14    Worthington Constitution and articles of agreement for Scioto Company are signed.
   1803    Columbus and Central Ohio Franklin County established with Franklinton established as its county seat. »
  Worthington Double log cabin is built on the lot facing the northeast quadrant of the public square as a temporary site for school, church, community meetings, and social activities. ‡
   1803 February 19    Ohio President Jefferson signs Congressional bill admitting Ohio as the 17th state. +
   1803 March 7    Worthington "Scioto Company members contract to buy 16,000 acres in the U.S. military district from Jonas Stanbury and Jonathan Dayton for $1.25 per acre. Half of this becomes Worthington and half is in Clinton Township and Delaware County."
   1803 April —
   1803 July 		Worthington "Kilbourn leads advance party to Ohio to clear land, plant corn, survey town lots and erect temporary shelters."
   1803 April 6    Worthington Kilbourne leaves for Worthington site, followed by workers from Connecticut, to clear land for the settlers arriving in the fall.
   1803 August 10    Worthington Scioto Company votes to name town for Thomas Worthington, one of Ohio's first two senators, and for each member to contribute $2 (about four days wages) to support a library." ‡
   1803 September    Worthington First settlers leave New England for Worthington by oxcart.
  National Louisiana Purchase from France doubles the size of the U.S.
   1803 October 19    Worthington New England Lodge No. 4 chartered by the Grand Lodge of Connecticut. 13 Scioto Company members were Master Masons. James Kilbourne served as the first master until 1812. ‡
   1803 December 1    Worthington Scioto Company holds its first meeting in Worthington.
   1803 December 12    Worthington Scioto Company grants Ezra Griswold the right to "keep a publick house for the Entertainment of Travelers."
   1803 December 23    Worthington Library officially founded.
   1803 December 26    Worthington First Christmas celebration in Worthington includes toasts and a ball.
   1804    Ohio "Ohio University is chartered, the first college in Ohio and the Old Northwest Territory." +
  Columbus and Central Ohio The Ohio legislature passes "Black Laws" that require all African Americans to post bond and proof of free status.
  Worthington School committeemen, selected in 1804, hold the first two-month school session, taught by Clarissa Thompson. This was a subscription rather than a public school. Classes were held in a cabin facing the northeast side of the public square. Wyandot Indians camp near the Olentagy, and bring furs into Worthington to trade for goods.
   1804 February —
   1804 March 		Worthington Thomas Phelps teaches first subscription school in a log cabin on northeast quadrant of public square.
   1804 February 6    Worthington "Articles of agreement executed to form St. John's Church, the first Episcopal society in Ohio. The proprietors reserved a double lot on the public square for a church building and 100 acres of farmland to support it." ‡
   1804 February 8    Worthington "The double wedding of Abner P. Pinney and Polly Morrison, Levi Pinney and Charlotte Beach was the first wedding in Worthington"
   1804 August 11    Worthington Scioto Co. members sign partition deed to divide 8,000 acres into farm lots and 164 town lots, reserving two on the public square for a school and two for the Episcopal Church." ‡
   1804 November 23    Worthington Abner Pinney's death is the first in the village and the first burial in St. John's churchyard. ‡
   1805    Worthington Worthington receives its first post office. ‡
  Worthington First grist mill established on the Olentangy near Worthington. *
   1805    Worthington Sarah Brandy and Polly Nate are the first African-Americans in Worthington.
   1805 January 28    Worthington Scioto Company disbands, having achieved its purpose.
   1805 November —
   1805 December 		Worthington Presbyterian ministry licentiates sent to Worthington area to contact Presbyterians and conduct worship. This led to the organization of Liberty Presbyterian Church in 1810.
   1807    Worthington Ezra Griswold obtains a tavern license. †
   1807 April 1    Worthington Worthington's first post office authorized and Nathaniel Little becomes postmaster. ‡
   1808    Worthington "James Kilbourn erects a commercial building for a newspaper, store and survey office. This building stands at 679-681 High St. as the oldest commercial building in continuous use in the state." ‡
  Worthington Methodist circuit riders first preach to a group of settlers at the home of Samuel Beach south of the village.
  Worthington Methodist Episcopal Church commenced in the Village. *
  Worthington Squirrel Tax imposed. 1,257 squirrels reported killed. *
   1808 February 20    Worthington Worthington Academy is incorporated by the Ohio legislature and a brick building is begun facing the northeast quadrant of the public square. Its bell now adorns Kilbourne Middle School. *
   1810    Columbus and Central Ohio Chief Leatherlips executed along the Scioto River north of Dublin by fellow Wyandot tribesmen angered by his refusal to fight the white settlers. *
   1811    Ohio "New Madrid earthquake, the strongest in U.S. history, rocks the Ohio and Mississippi valleys."
  Worthington "Ezra Griswold builds a large, south-facing brick tavern on the lot north of the northeast quadrant of the public square." †
  Worthington Itinerant Methodist preachers hold a revival meeting on the east bank of the Whetstone River south of Worthington. Enough converts are made to form a "class meeting" with Worthington resident Joab Hoyt as leader.
  Worthington James Kilbourne founds the Worthington Manufacturing Company. *
   1811 July 11    Worthington "The Western Intelligencer, Franklin County's first newspaper, begins publication." *
   1812    Worthington Summer revival meetings lead to the formation of a Methodist "class meeting" led by Joab Hoyt.
  Worthington President James Madison urges James Kilbourne to make woolen cloth for soldiers' uniforms. A new mill is built. *
  Worthington Militia drills on the public square (Village Green) in preparation for war. ‡
  National War with the British. +
  Columbus and Central Ohio Ohio legislature designates Columbus as site for state capital. +
  Worthington Aurora Buttles builds what is now the keeping room wing of the Orange Johnson House before leaving with the militia.
   1812 February 21    Columbus and Central Ohio "Ohio legislature designates a new town to be called Columbus as the state capital. Worthington, Delaware, Dublin and Franklinton were among the losing contenders." +
   1812 May 7    Worthington The Worthington Manufacturing Company acquires property on the Olentangy River to begin diverse manufacturing operations.
   1812 June 17    Ohio U.S. Congress declares war on Great Britain; Gen. William Hull commands western army including Ohio militia troops.
   1812 August    Worthington Several Worthington militiamen march north with Hull's army and are surrendered at Detroit.
   1812 October 28    Worthington "Orders issued by General William Henry Harrison from "Northwest Army Headquarters, Worthington, Ohio" indicate the commander, like his supply wagons, was using the road north from the capital."
   1813    Worthington "Orange Johnson, a young entrepreneur, moves to Worthington and begins to manufacture wood and horn combs." *
   1813 May 24    Worthington James Kilbourn takes his seat as a newly elected representative to the U.S. Congress
   1813 September 10    Ohio Oliver Hazzard Perry defeats the British fleet on Lake Erie at Put-In-Bay. +
   1813 October 5    Ohio The death of Tecumseh and defeat of the British at the Battle of the Thames essentially ends the war in the west.
   1814    Columbus and Central Ohio "Two story statehouse is erected, partly with bricks from pre-historic Indian mound destroyed at Mound and High St."
   1814 March 16    Columbus and Central Ohio Editor Joel Buttles moves the Western Intelligencer to Columbus.
   1814 September 7    Worthington "Zophar Topping dies while serving with Indian scouts, Worthington's only casualty in the War of 1812."
   1815    Columbus and Central Ohio First Ohio Penitentiary opens. »
   1816    Worthington "In the absence of a bank, Ezra Griswold issues shinplasters redeemable at his tavern."
  Columbus and Central Ohio "Franklin Bank is incorporated, Franklin County's first, with 4 of its 13 directors Worthington men."
   1816 June 18    Worthington Presbyterian Church of Worthington established. Eleven persons meet at home of Peter and Zilpha Barker to organize a Presbyterian congregation. *
   1816 December 2    Columbus and Central Ohio The Ohio legislature opens its first session in the new capitol.
   1817    Worthington Philander Chase moves to Worthington to become the first rector of St. John's Episcopal Church. He concurrently serves as rector of Episcopal churches in Columbus and Delaware and as principal of Worthington Academy. ‡
  Worthington Female Tract Society of Worthington and Its Vicinity organized with Cynthia Kilbourne as president. »
  Worthington Chase purchases a 150-acre farm south of the village where St. Michael's Catholic Church is now located. ‡
   1817 August 25    Worthington President James Madison visits Worthington. *
   1818    Ohio Treaty of St. Mary's forces last 2400 Indians in northwest Ohio unto 16 small reservations so the land reserved by Greenville Treaty can be surveyed for white settlement.
   1818 June    Worthington Rev. Chase is elected Bishop of the newly organized Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.
   1819    National U.S. Bank crisis leads to panic of 1819 and economic depression.
  Worthington "Ezra Griswold, Jr. begins publication of the Franklin Chronicle"
  Worthington Combmaker and entrepreneur Orange Johnson builds elegant Federal style addition to the house he purchased in 1816. This is west-facing façade of the Orange Johnson House. ‡
  Worthington Worthington Manufacturing Company collapses; James Kilbourne loses his entire investment. ‡
   1819 January    Columbus and Central Ohio Christopher Ripley closes the Columbus store of the Worthington Manufacturing Co.
   1819 February 8    Worthington Worthington Academy is re-chartered as Worthington College and a new wing added. *
   1819 April 14    Worthington Victor Moreau Griswold, artist, photographer, inventor of the ferrotype, born in Worthington.
   1820    Worthington Efforts begin to build a bridge across the Olentangy River where Granville Road now crosses. Previously, the only way to cross the river was to ford it on horseback at times of low water. †
  Worthington Methodists build a church in Worthington. *
   1820 June 3    Worthington "Masonic Lodge #4, chartered in Connecticut in 1803 before migration, awards contract to brickmason and lodge member Aurora Buttles to erect a Masonic hall. This building at 634 High St. now serves as a Masonic museum and has since become the oldest Masonic Temple in continuous use west of the Allegheny Mountains." ‡
   1821    Columbus and Central Ohio Organization of the Ohio State Temperance Society.
   1821 June 4    Worthington "A Kentucky slave owner advertises a $500 reward in the Franklin Chronicle for the return of his slave "Isham," reportedly set free at Worthington."
   1821 July 4    Worthington "Procession of workers from the Worthington Manufacturing Company marched from Factory (South) Street to the public square (Village Green), where a 120 foot flagstaff was erected." ‡
   1821 September 24    Worthington Griswold moves his newspaper to Delaware and renames it the Delaware Patron and Franklin Chronicle.
   1821 December 13    Worthington Twenty subscribers meet at the home of Daniel Upson to incorporate the Presbyterian Society of Worthington.
   1822    Worthington Philander Chase leaves Worthington, after disagreements with James Kilbourn, to become president of Cincinnati College. ‡
   1823    Worthington Methodists build the first church building in Worthington. ‡
   1825 February 5    Ohio Ohio legislature enacts first law to require tax support for public schools. ‡
   1825 July 4    Ohio Groundbreaking at Licking Summit for Ohio and Erie Canal to link Ohio River and Lake Erie. +
  Ohio Construction of National Rd. across Ohio begins at St. Clairsville. +
   1826    Worthington Worthington businessman Orange Johnson appointed superintendent for turnpike construction
   1826 January 31    Columbus and Central Ohio Ohio legislature incorporates the Columbus & Sandusky Turnpike.
   1829    Columbus and Central Ohio Ohio Asylum for Educating the Deaf and Dumb is incorporated through efforts of Rev. James Hoge.
  Worthington Worthington's first public school built on the southeast corner of what is now Oxford and Short Streets. ‡
  Worthington The Ohio Reformed Medical College established using former Worthington College buildings. ‡
  Worthington Methodist church organized in the log school house in Flint. ‡
  Worthington The Ohio Reformed Medical College was the first charter given to a medical school in Ohio. *
c. 1830    Worthington 1830s: Worthington cabinetmaker James Russell develops his orrery (a mechanical model of the solar system). The rotations of the inner planets eventually reached a diameter of 48 feet, smaller orreries extended the outer planets' orbits to 68 feet. The orrery eventually traveled across New York state to be exhibited at the American Institute in New York City.
   1830    Worthington Temperance Society formed. *
  Worthington Medical school opens. *
  Worthington "Presbyterians build a church on the northwest corner of the public square, the same site where the current church now stands." ‡
   1830 September 22    Worthington Ohio Reformed Medical College is established under the Worthington College charter and utilizing its facility. ‡
   1831 January 23    Worthington First church service held in St. John's Episcopal church, which still stands on the Village Green." ‡
   1832    Ohio Cleveland and Portsmouth linked with completion of Ohio and Erie canal. +
   1833    Columbus and Central Ohio "National Road from Cumberland, Maryland reaches Columbus." +
  Worthington Bell in St. John's belfry is rung for the first time.
  Columbus and Central Ohio Franklin County Infirmary opens. »
   1835    Worthington Oldest portion of what is now the Worthington Inn constructed as a residence for the Rensselaer W. and Laura Kilbourn Cowles family. ‡
   1835 —
   1842 		Worthington Cabinetmaker James Russell builds an orrery (mechanical model of solar system) with orbit of rotating planets 68 feet in diameter. It was exhibited at the American Institute in New York city and through several European countries.
   1835 March 9    Worthington The village of Worthington is incorporated by the Ohio legislature. James Kilbourne chosen as first mayor. ‡
   1835 March 28    Worthington The Worthington Anti-Slavery Society is organized with 66 subscribers. Ozem Gardner, Flint resident, is president. The Methodist congregations in Worthington and Flint are thought to have assisted fugitive slaves; the deeply wooded ravine that parallels Flint Road provided excellent protective cover for runaways.
   1836 February 20    Worthington "Village council prohibits dead animals, manure, and construction debris from being left on village streets and animals from running at large in the village." ‡
   1837    Ohio "Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad operates first steam locomotive from Toledo to Adrian, Michigan."
  Columbus and Central Ohio Ohio Institution for the Instruction of the Blind opens in Columbus Presbyterian Church. Bill Moose, son of John and Henrietta Moose, full-blooded Wyandots, is born in Sandusky. *
   1838    Worthington Rev. Uriah Heath, a prominent Methodist preacher and advocate for Sunday schools and education, is minister of the Worthington Methodist church through 1839. He plays a prime role in the establishment of the Female Seminary. ‡
   1839    Worthington Worthington Medical College closes and relocates in Cincinnati amid economic depression and controversy over rumored cemetery raids to procure cadavers for anatomy classes. ‡
   1839 March 9    Worthington Worthington Female Seminary incorporated under the auspices of the Methodist Church and the influence of Rev. Uriah Heath. ‡
   1839 March 16    Worthington Worthington Literati is incorporated to establish a library and lyceum.
   1839 July 4    Columbus and Central Ohio Cornerstone laid for the current Ohio State Capitol. +
   1840    Worthington Worthington erects a log cabin on the public square to show its support for Harrison.
   1840 February 21    Columbus and Central Ohio "Ohio Whig Convention launches "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" campaign of Ohioan William Henry Harrison with parades, ringing bells and firing cannons."
   1841    Worthington Owners of lots adjoining the village square (Village Green) required to build gravel sidewalks. ‡
  Worthington St. John's Episcopal Church decides to build a rectory in hopes of making the parish more attractive to potential rectors. ‡
  Worthington Public school directors lease a room in Worthington College to accommodate increased enrollment. ‡
   1842    Worthington Presbyterians add a steeple to their original frame church. †
  Ohio "Wyandot Indians, the last tribe in Ohio, are forced to move from their Upper Sandusky reservation to west of the Mississippi River." +
  Worthington Three-story brick building dedicated as home to Worthington Female Seminary. 'Old Man Clark", an African-American living near Flint, begins to aid escaping slaves.
   1845    Worthington "St. John's first rectory is built just south of the church facing the public square. This building is now known as The Old Rectory, the Worthington Historical Society's headquarters on W. New England Avenue." ‡
  Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus's oldest charity, the Columbus Female Benevolent Society, founded. »
   1845 February    Columbus and Central Ohio "A citywide district for graded schools is formed, and by July 1847 three six-room schools are opened." »
   1848    Ohio Legislature creates a state department of common schools for Negro and Mulatto children. Prior to this date, African-American children were notpermitted to attend public schools. +
  Worthington Rev. Uriah Health returns to the Worthington Methodist Church after spending the previous year as agent for the Female Seminary. ‡
   1849    Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus and Worthington Plank Road is incorporated and improves the old Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike with wood planks.
  Worthington "Rev. Thomas Woodrow, grandfather of future president Woodrow Wilson, becomes minister of the Worthington Presbyterian Church, where he serves until 1857." ‡
   1850    Worthington Orange Johnson sells land for construction of Columbus' Union Station. Census lists 23 AFrican-american children living in Worthington and Sharon Township, but none are enrolled in school.
   1850 April 24    Worthington James Kilbourne dies. *
   1850 December 14    Columbus and Central Ohio First train from Cincinnati crosses new bridge across Scioto and enters the new Union Station on north High St.
   1851    Worthington The CCC railroad line passes the village one mile east of the public square. †
  Worthington Lorenzo Davies invents the "cowcatcher" in his workshop at the corner of Broad and Front Streets in Columbus. +
  Columbus and Central Ohio First Columbus city high school class graduates. »
   1851 February 21    Columbus and Central Ohio "425 passengers board the first Cleveland, Columbus, & Cincinnati (CCC) train from the capital to Cleveland."
   1851 June 17    Ohio Ohio voters ratify new constitution providing for election of judges and again denying voting rights to women and blacks. +
   1852    Worthington Worthington becomes a village under general law. *
   1854    Worthington "William Bishop renovates the Cowles family home and opens it as a hotel, Bishop House (now known as the Worthington Inn.)." 30 freed slaves are given land in the AfricaRoad area; some later move to Flint.
   1855    Worthington International Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) Ark Lodge No. 270 established in Worthington.
   1856 February 28    Worthington Plat filed for Morris Addition, Worthington's first subdivision, with 118 lots adjoining the southeast side of the village. Financing by Methodists aims to encourage home ownership for retired ministers and African Americans."
   1856 April 3    Worthington Henry and Dolly Turk become the first African Americans in the village to own their own home.
   1856 September 15    Worthington "Worthington Union School, 67 E. Granville Rd., opens. It is the oldest surviving "Union School" in Franklin Co. and perhaps in Ohio. Primary and intermediate classrooms were on the first floor and the I.O.O.F. Lodge rented the second floor until it was needed for classes."
   1857    Ohio Panic of 1857 -- initiated by failure of Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company of Cincinnati. +
  Worthington Female Seminary closes as Ohio Weslyan University in Delaware attracts young women.
   1859 January 20    Worthington "Council purchases 10 acres south of town for Walnut Grove Cemetery. The first burial, that of James Taylor, takes place Feb. 1." †
   1860    Columbus and Central Ohio Miles Pinney operates omnibus which travels daily from Dublin through Worthington to Columbus. Passengers left Bishop House (Worthington Inn) at 8 a.m., arrived in Columbus at 10 a.m. and returned at 3 p.m. ‡
   1861    Worthington Worthington native Lt. Col. Roswell S. Ripley (born 1823) commands Confederate artillery in Charleston Harbor during Ft. Sumter bombardment.
  Worthington Village council votes to fence in the public square (Village Green). ‡
  Worthington Horace Wright builds the house at 137 E. Granville Rd. that is now known as Sharon Memorial Hall. ‡
   1861 —
   1865 		Ohio "Civil War: 346,326 Ohioans (three out of every five men in the state) serve in the Union Army, with one in 10 dying -- 11,237 from battle wounds, 23,354 from disease. Altogether, 35,475 die. Several Ohioans become generals and Ulysses S. Grant is the commander who receives the Confederate surrender at Appomatox."
  Columbus and Central Ohio "Camp Chase, a 165-acre site four miles west of the capitol, becomes a major camp for mustering and training recruits and later for mustering out veterans. In Aug. 1861, a section was reserved for Confederate prisoners, and by war's end 2,260 Confederate soldiers remained buried in its cemetery."
  Worthington "Four Worthington men -- Eli Barker, Henry C. Burr, George McIlvan, and Walter A. Tuller -- were killed during the war."
   1861 September 27    Worthington "Capt. William Pinney and 14 members of the "Olentangy Reserves" muster into Company E of Thomas Worthington Jr.'s 46th Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment, which trains at Camp Lyon on the old Worthington Manufacturing Co. site southwest of the village." ‡
   1862 April 6    Worthington "The 46th O.V.I. suffers 236 men killed, wounded or missing at the Battle of Shiloh -- 40 percent of those present for duty. Deaths include 1st Sgt. Burr and Pvt. Barker of Worthington. Enlistments continue with several local men including Capt. John Skeele joining the 113the O.V.I. that fights from Chickamaugua through Sherman's march to the sea." ‡
   1862 August 30    Worthington Private (subsequently Captain) John S. Skeele enlists in the 113th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at age 30. Skeele was with the 113th O.V.I. throughout the Chickamaugua, Chattanooga, and Atlanta campaigns. He marched with Sherman to the sea and participated in the Grand Review in Washington on May 24, 1865. ‡
   1863    Worthington Homer Tuller and Ezra Gilbert are paid to plant 62 trees on the public square (Village Green) ‡
   1864    Worthington Methodist congregation replaces their building with a new church adjoining the Female Seminary. Ozem Gardner sells land for Flint Cemetery.
  Worthington Captain John Skeele's wife, Harriet, purchases the house now at 700 Hartford St. ‡
   1865    Worthington "Village council prohibits "riding, driving, or leading animals" across the public square (Village Green) except on the roads that cross and go around it." ‡
  Worthington "'Gardner Chapel', the first frame church for the Methodist congregation in Flint, is built on the Gardner farm."
   1866    Worthington "William Heath excavates Hopewell mound and finds fragments of pottery, decayed wood, and the remains of two skeletons." ‡
  Worthington Lewis family purchases Bishop House (Worthington Inn) and continues to operate it until 1889 as Union Hotel. ‡
  Worthington Harvey and Henry Johnson purchase farmland south of what is now Park Road. ‡
   1868    National Gen. Ulysses S. Grant is elected president.
  Worthington "Harvey and Henry Johnson survey and plat the village of Flint and erect a railroad station to serve Flint, Worthington, and Westerville." ‡
   1869    Worthington "Julia Holt born south of the village. As an editor in Chicago, she wrote freelance stories for women's and religious magazines and newspapers under the pen name Dorothy Deane in the 1890s." ‡
  Worthington "Annetta Johnson St. Gaudens is born. Johnson was the daughter of Harvey Johnson, who, with his twin brother, developed the village of Flint. Annetta grew up to be an accomplished sculptor, working as an assistant to the famous sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens. She married Augustus' brother, Louis."
   1870    Worthington Walter Foss paid to erect signboards on the public square (Village Green). ‡
  Worthington "Changes in the Ohio Municipal Code mean that Worthington now has a mayor, six council members serving two year terms, and an official town clerk."
  Worthington Worthington Board of Education builds a new, larger school on the lot next to the northeast quadrant of the public square. ‡
   1871    Worthington The Normal School was purchased by William Mitchell, superintendent of the Columbus public schools, and his uncle John Ogden, principal of the Kenyon College preparatory department. ‡
  Worthington "Methodist trustees sell the Female Seminary property for its 1839 purchase price of $1,500. John Ogden opens the Ohio Central Normal School to train teachers and his wife, Anna, begins the first training program in the state for kindergarten teachers." ‡
   1872    Columbus and Central Ohio First National Reform Party organized in Columbus. »
   1873    Ohio Eliza Trimble Thompson leads Hillsboro church women to march into saloons and kneel in prayer. The tactic spreads and invigorates the temperance movement.
  Columbus and Central Ohio Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College (later to become Ohio State University) opens. +
  Worthington Ohio legislature transfers the college property northeast of the public square to the Worthington Board of Education and the buildings are razed. ‡
   1873 April 7    Worthington "Worthington Town Council and Sharon Township Trustees agree to pay $400 for the use of the 1856 school for council meetings. The building, located at 67 E. Granville Rd., became known as Town Hall."
   1874    Ohio Women's Christian Temperance Union founded in Cleveland.
  Worthington A new Worthington School is built on site of former Worthington Academy, Worthington College, and Ohio Reformed Medical College to serve as model school for training teachers from Ohio Central Normal School. By 1879 it offers Worthington's first public high school as well as elementary classes. †
  National Chautauqua movement brings educational speakers to rural communities across the country.
   1876    National Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes is elected president in controversial election.
   1877    Ohio First compulsory school attendance law requires children 8 to 14 to attend at least 12 weeks of school annually.
   1880    National Ohio Congressman James Garfield is elected president.
  Worthington "Worthington's first jail, an 18 x 30 ft. brick building, is erected east of the 1856 school then used as the Town Hall."
  Worthington Normal school closes. *
   1881    Worthington Ohio Central Normal School closes and the building becomes a residential hotel. *
   1881 May 23    Worthington Telephone link between Worthington and Columbus completed. *
   1884    Worthington Twin Oaks, at 7970 Flint Road, is built by Harvey and Maria Johnson. ‡
  Ohio "Legislature enacts a public accommodations law prohibiting discrimination by race in public facilities such as hotels and restaurants, but it relied on local enforcement."
  Ohio "Standard Time Zones adopted. Four time zones were created in America to replace the 100 or so time zones that previously existed. This helped the railroads greatly."
   1885    Columbus and Central Ohio Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society (Ohio Historical Society) is founded at Columbus.
   1886    Columbus and Central Ohio "In Columbus, the American Federation of Trades and Labor is founded with Samuel Gomphers as its president." +
  Worthington Council authorizes installation of 15 gasoline street lights.
   1887    Ohio "Legislature repeals Ohio's Black Laws, including the separate school system for non-white students."
  Worthington "The one-room Wilson School, 7447 Olentangy River Road, constructed. This was the only Sharon Township school ever built west of the Olentangy River." ‡
  Worthington Log cabin erected on Village Green as part of the centennial celebration of the settlement in the Northwest Territory
   1888    Columbus and Central Ohio Franklin County Children's Home opens. »
  Worthington Log cabin erected on Village Green as part of the centennial celebration of the settlement in the Northwest Territory. ‡
   1889    Worthington "Bright's Chapel Methodist Church (now the Village Bookstore at 2424 W. Granville Rd.) built in what is now Linworth. Linworth was formerly known as Elmwood Station, a stop on the Toledo and Central Ohio Railroad." †
   1890    Columbus and Central Ohio United Mine Workers of America (UMW) founded in Columbus. »
  Worthington Frank W. Bishop builds a general store with a meeting hall and theater stage on the second floor. This building still stands as the "Nuts and Bolts" section of the Worthington Hardware. †
   1891    Columbus and Central Ohio First electric streetcars in Columbus. »
   1892    Ohio Ohio legislature makes it illegal to terminate employees for membership in a labor union. +
  Columbus and Central Ohio "Columbus Driving Park, Columbus' first multi-purpose entertainment complex opens." »
  Ohio Boxwell examination standardizes qualifications to graduate from common schools and allows rural students to attend nearest high school.
   1893    Worthington Village council grants Columbus Electric Street Railway a right of way in the center of Main St. (High Street) from the southern edge of the village to the center of the public square. ‡
  Worthington George Van Loon purchases Bishop House (Worthington Inn) and renames it Central House. After a fire at the turn of the century a third floor ballroom and mansard roof are added. ‡
  Worthington New high school built next to 1874 school on the north side of Granville Road just east of the public square.
   1893 November 16    Worthington The first electric railway car from Columbus reaches Worthington to Columbus.
   1894    Worthington "More than 1,000 people attend the annual township school picnic held on the public square (Village Green)." ‡
  Worthington About 500 members of the Franklin County Pioneer Association (descendants of early settlers) attend a gathering on the public square.
  Worthington The Anti-Saloon League of Worthington holds its first meeting.
  Worthington Anti-Saloon league persuades a Clintonville saloonkeeper not to sell intoxicants at his newly purchased property about ½ mile east of the village.
  Worthington Worthington and Westerville are connected by electric railway.
   1894 December 8    Columbus and Central Ohio James Thurber born in Columbus.
   1895    Columbus and Central Ohio First automobile race held in Columbus at the State Fairgrounds. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio Franklin Park Conservatory opens.
  Columbus and Central Ohio Mrs. James Canfield, wife of the OSU president, founds more women's clubs in Ohio than anyone else. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio Union Company store founded. »
   1896    Columbus and Central Ohio Southern Theater opens. »
  National Governor William McKinley wins presidency over William Jennings Bryan.
  Worthington Worthington Franklin Griswold plats the farmland on the northeast side of the village as Griswold's East Side Addition. ‡
   1897    Columbus and Central Ohio Franklinton celebrates its centennial. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio Southern Theatre and Hotel open. »
  Worthington Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church organized. †
  Worthington Julia Holt (see 1869) marries Eric Nelson, a Chicago business man who became a Worthington banker, in her parents' living room at 675 Oxford St. ‡
   1898    Columbus and Central Ohio "Godman Guild, a north side neighborhood settlement house, founded."
  Worthington 60 men from Worthington enlist in Ohio National Guard but the village suffers no casualties in Spanish-American War.
  Worthington "Worthington's public reading room owns about 2,000 volumes, with about 500 books exchanged there each week."
   1898 February    National The battleship Maine explodes in Havana harbor killing 260 Americans.
   1898 March 23    Columbus and Central Ohio Scioto River floods Columbus. »
   1898 April 26    National "Congress declares war on Spain. Ohio sends 15,345 troops, 230 of whom die, mostly of disease."
   1899    National Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is organized nationally as a result of Spanish-American War.
  Columbus and Central Ohio Camp Bushnell established in Columbus as a statewide mustering out point for the Spanish-American War. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio First automobile arrives in Columbus. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio "Associated Charities, the direct ancestor of United Way, founded in Columbus. " »
   1899 September 1    Worthington Council grants Franklin Telephone Co. the right to operate a telephone exchange and toll lines in Worthington. Within a year there are 125 phones.
   1900    Worthington "46th Ohio Volunteer Infantry holds a reunion in Worthington. 125 members of the old regiment attend, along with family members. Judge David Pugh returns the flag he captured during the Battle of Atlanta to representatives of the 30th Louisiana regiment."
  Columbus and Central Ohio Florence Crittendon Home established. »
  Worthington Worthington Savings Bank builds an office.
  Columbus and Central Ohio Godman Guild Settlement House opens. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio Dr. George Harding II (President Warren Harding's younger brother) starts a psychiatric hospital in the Ohio State University area.
  National McKinley is re-elected but soon assinated.
  Columbus and Central Ohio "At 125,560, Columbus' population has nearly doubled since 1890." µ
  Worthington Worthington's population in 1900 is only 15 more than the 440 who lived here in 1840. †
   1900 June 6    Columbus and Central Ohio "Admiral George Dewey, hero of Spanish-American War, arrives for 'Dewey Day.'" »
   1901    Columbus and Central Ohio Ohio AAA (Auto Club) founded in Columbus. »
  Worthington Worthington Creamery opens.
  Columbus and Central Ohio First electric interurban arrives in Columbus. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus establishes a 6 mph speed limit. Speeders subject to 30 days in jail.
   1902    Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus YMCA starts a school of commerce to teach workers to read and write. The school evolves into Franklin University. µ
  Columbus and Central Ohio Buckeye Steel Castings' new foundry opens. »
  Worthington Worthington women organize Fortnightly Club to "stimulate intellectual and moral development and to promote good fellowship among its members."
  Worthington "Groundbreaking for Columbus Pottery factory adjoining rail tracks east of Chaseland subdivision, formerly Bishop Chase's farm (east of High St, south of St. Michael's Church)."
  Worthington "George Van Loon, proprietor of Hotel Central, operates a horse market in stables behind the hotel that handled 8,000 animals in the past four years."
  Worthington Groundbreaking for Columbus Pottery Company factory at the east end of the Chaseland subdivision. Chaseland is the area just south of St. Michael's and east of High Street. At one time the area encompassed Philander Chase's farm.
   1902 August    Worthington "Completion of the Slate Hill trestle north of Worthington (from Worthington to Clintonville) allows the electric street railway to extend service north and become the Columbus, Delaware and Marion (CD&M) interurban railway." †
   1903    Columbus and Central Ohio Interurban line connects Columbus and Indianapolis. »
  Worthington "The Chaseland subdivision located just south of Worthington advertises as a "fine suburban addition location on the picturesque Columbus, Delaware, and Marion interurban line" with lots ranging from $100 to $300." †
  Columbus and Central Ohio Volunteers of America set up a Columbus office. »
  Worthington Worthington Fortnightly Club organizes a Worthington centennial celebration -- a party at the home of Dr. and Mrs. D.H. Welling.
  Columbus and Central Ohio Dunn Taft Store is first in Columbus to deliver goods by automobile. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio Private trolley to Hartman Farm opens. »
   1904    Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus' Main Library on Grant is built with Carnegie funds. µ
  Worthington The village is piped for natural gas for heat and light.
  Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus Zoo opens north of Wetmore and south of Morse Rd. »
  Worthington St. John's Episcopal Church celebrates its centennial.
  Worthington Columbus Pottery goes bankrupt before construction of the factory is complete.
   1905    Columbus and Central Ohio Storage Dam (Griggs Dam) dedicated. »
   1906    Columbus and Central Ohio Curtis E. LeMay, U.S. Air Force general, born in Columbus. »
   1907    Columbus and Central Ohio First Kroger store opens in Columbus at 494 N. High St. »
  Worthington Norris Brothers Feed Mill and Store built at the southwest corner of the public square where Wesley Court condominiums now stand. †
   1908    Columbus and Central Ohio First Columbus comprehensive city plan completed. »
  Worthington Worthington Public Library Association incorporated. Applications to the Carnegie Foundation to fund a building were turned down twice because "so small a community could not support a library." ‡
  Columbus and Central Ohio World's first municipal water purification and softening plant opens in Columbus. µ
   1909    Columbus and Central Ohio "Indianola School, the first junior high school in the United States, opens."
  Worthington "In summer, the Godman Guild brings 70 impoverished Flytown women and children to the Johnson family farm on Flint ravine for the restorative effects of 'fresh air.'"
  Columbus and Central Ohio Lazarus Department store adds its first escalator. µ
   1910    Columbus and Central Ohio First Columbus Boy Scouts camp founded by J.J. Staley. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus builds the first city garbage reduction and recycling plant in the United States. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio World's first air cargo freight shipment arrived at Columbus' Driving Park. »
  Worthington Annetta Johnson St. Gaudens gives 12 acres of her family farm southeast of the Flint ravine to the Godman Guild to serve as a permanent camp.
   1910 April 29 —
   1910 October 18 		Columbus and Central Ohio Streetcar strike begins in Columbus. Strike lasts until Oct. 18.
   1910 April 30    Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus is the first city in the United States to collect garbage door to door. »
   1911    Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus voters pass the first bond issue for city parks and recreation. µ
  Worthington Covered bridge that carries Wilson Bridge Road across the Olentangy washes out. †
   1912    Columbus and Central Ohio Standard Oil opens its first drive-through gas station in Columbus. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus celebrates its centennial. »
  Worthington Methodist Children's Home Association selects Worthington for its new orphanage and purchases 141 acres north of the village.
  Columbus and Central Ohio "Women's suffrage march draws 5,000 protesters to Columbus." µ
   1912 June 25    Worthington Council passes resolution to install a public water works and water becomes available throughout the village the next year.
   1913    National Federal income tax introduced. µ
  Columbus and Central Ohio Fire at State Penitentiary in Columbus kills more than 300 inmates. +
  Worthington Potter Lumber Co. is founded adjacent to the railroad. Local carpenters can now buy building supplies and pre-cut houses such as the "Honor Bilt" homes from Sears.
  Ohio "Spring floods kill 428 in Ohio, destroy $250 million in property." +
  Columbus and Central Ohio "More than 750,000 people turn out to attend the revival meeting held by evangelist William Ashley "Billy" Sunday. He reportedly converted more than 18,000 people and raised $21,000 during his seven- week stay in Columbus." +
  Columbus and Central Ohio OSU's Main Library dedicated. »
  Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus issues first automobile licenses. »
  Worthington Water system installed in the village. †
   1913 March 25    Columbus and Central Ohio "Flood of 1913 begins. 100 killed and 20,000 homeless on Columbus' west side." µ
   1914    Columbus and Central Ohio New Columbus city charter eliminates ward system. »
  Worthington Bethel A.M.E. congregation changes its name and builds St. John's A.M.E. Church at 682 E. Plymouth St. †
  Worthington The Brunt Tile and Porcelain Company takes over the Columbus Pottery building at the eastern end of the Chaseland subdivision southeast of Worthington. †
   1916    Columbus and Central Ohio "Dr. George T. Harding opens a rest home for women on E. 18th Ave., the forerunner of Harding Hospital." µ
  Worthington A new high school designed by Columbus architect Frank Packard is built on the school farm lot. This building is now known as the Annex, is unoccupied and awaiting renovation. †
  Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus organizes a local chapter of the Red Cross. »
  Worthington Worthington Fire Department officially organized. †
  Worthington High Street paved and sewage system installed.
  Worthington Worthington Presbyterian Church celebrates its centennial.
   1917    Ohio "U.S. enters World War I; 6,800 Ohio soldiers killed in the war." +
  Worthington Worthington Sunday School classes converge on the public square for a flag raising ceremony commemorating the installation of a flag pole.
  Worthington CD&M allows Worthington to tap its line to provide electric current to local residents.
   1917 June 5    Worthington "On "Call to the Colors Day" every church, school, fire, farm, and engine bell, along with automobile horns and factory whistles are to be blown for five minutes at 7 a.m. to encourage young men to register for the draft. Seven men from Worthington volunteer for the army."
   1918    Ohio Ohio legislature prohibits German instruction below 8th grade.
  Columbus and Central Ohio Columbus Urban League established. »
  National Influenza epidemic takes hundreds of thousands of Americans' lives.
  Worthington Worthington chapter of the Red Cross organized.
  Worthington Board of Education drops the study of German from the curriculum.
  Worthington "Three Worthington men die while in service: Laurence G. Leasure, Arthur Wolford, William H. Yaugar."