Columbus Historical Society

06/18/2026

Join us today by signing up or renewing your membership!
▶️ https://www.columbushistory.org/memberships

06/17/2026

Join us for a Free Open House at the Historic Harrison House and Sullivant Land Office!

The Columbus Historical Society will host an open house at the Harrison House every Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June 19 until September 4 as part of the America250Ohio celebration of our nation’s 250th anniversary.

At 1 p.m. on each of those Fridays, a CHS speaker will give a talk on the circa 1807 house, including a history of the historic Franklinton neighborhood that was founded by Lucas Sullivant in 1797 and preceded the birth of Columbus by 15 years. The presentation will examine General William Henry Harrison's possible use of the house as a headquarters during the War of 1812.

During all open house hours, CHS docents will be available to answer questions about those topics and others pertaining to the pioneer history of Franklinton and Columbus.

No RSVP required.

We look forward to welcoming you!

06/15/2026

We hope you enjoy this 1910 postcard features Columbus’s Olentangy Park. Looks like a great way to spend a summer’s day!

06/12/2026

Check out this map is from AmeriFlora'92 that was generously donated to CHS by Rodney Caborn!

AmeriFlora '92 was an international horticultural exhibition in 1992 that commemorated the five hundred year anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in North America. Located on 88 acres in Franklin Park where it drew 5.5 million visitors, it was the first time an exhibition like this had ever been held in the United States.

06/11/2026

"In the early 1900s, a tuberculosis epidemic swept through the nation. With deaths rising, Columbus health officials and educators followed an innovative trend in educational facilities, intending to strengthen children most at risk for tuberculosis by incorporating abundant fresh air, rest, and nutrition. In 1928, their advocacy resulted in the Open Air School, designed by Howard Dwight Smith, a renowned Central Ohio architect who is most notably responsible for Ohio Stadium. Smith embraced the elegance of the Italian Renaissance Revival in the two-story, flat-roofed building with tall arched openings, expansive windows, and intricate terra cotta details, curating a seamless transition from indoor and outdoor spaces."

Read the full article in our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/e837dadc7d9c/whats-new-at-chs-may2026

📷 Photo from the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

06/09/2026

"Looking Back at Big Bear Stores in Central Ohio" from the The Columbus Dispatch.

Big Bear Stores was an American regional supermarket chain operating in Ohio and West Virginia between 1933 and 2004.

06/08/2026

Rubén Castilla Herrera (1957–2019) was a fearless Mexican-American organizer whose life
embodied radical love and intersectional justice. Born to migrant farmworkers in Seguin, Texas,
and raised in the fields of the American West, Herrera transformed his early experiences of
labor exploitation and loss into a decades-long career of grassroots leadership in Columbus,
Ohio. A co-founder of the Columbus Sanctuary Collective and the Central Ohio Worker Center,
he championed immigrant families facing deportation, farmworkers demanding fair labor
practices, and low-wage workers seeking dignity.

As a q***r Latinx activist, Herrera insisted that justice movements remain interconnected,
linking immigrant rights, Black liberation, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and anti-imperialist struggle.
Known for leading rallies with a bullhorn and organizing through a “circle-based” leadership
model, he centered collective power over personal recognition. His legacy endures in the
communities he mobilized, the sanctuaries he defended, and the enduring call for justice he
carried throughout Central Ohio.

Photo Credit: .workers

06/05/2026

"The Merry Makers Club was started in 1926 at East High after black students were prevented from joining in social activities at the school. Though there is some confusion, it is thought that Floyd Brown and Harold Ward were two of the founding members. The original clubhouse was located on Jefferson Avenue and has been at 618 East Spring Street since 1966."

Article by Loraine M. Wilmers, Local History & Genealogy, Columbus Metropolitan Library

See the full article in our October 2021 newsletter --> https://mailchi.mp/d054129b60d0/whats-new-at-chs-5099053

📷 Loaned to the Columbus Metropolitan Library by the King Arts Complex for their digital collections.

06/04/2026

Say HELLO to spring with a membership to the Columbus Historical Society! Help us preserve history!

Join us today by signing up or renewing your membership!
🌼🌷🌼 https://www.columbushistory.org/memberships

06/03/2026

From the The Columbus Foundation:

"Lonnie Thompson, PhD, and Ellen Mosley-Thompson, PhD, have lived extraordinary, adventure-filled lives. As spouses, research partners, and globally recognized paleoclimatologists—scientists who study ancient climates—Lonnie and Ellen have journeyed across continents and hemispheres to retrieve glacial ice cores that help us better understand our Earth’s climate history."

"Collectively, their expeditions have taken them to destinations as remote as Antarctica, with bitter subzero temperatures, and as high as Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, a dormant volcano that rises more than 19,000 feet above sea level. Ice cores collected from these sites and others are housed at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at The Ohio State University, where Lonnie and Ellen work as Distinguished University Professors."

Read the article:

World-renowned researchers—Lonnie Thompson, PhD, and Ellen Mosley-Thompson, PhD—are on a mission to preserve glacial ice cores for future generations of scientists.