Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, its population was 39,190 at the 2020 census. The city is home to Otterbein University. It was once known as the "Dry Capital of the World" for its strict laws prohibiting sales of alcohol and for being the home of the Anti-Saloon League, one of the driving forces behind the Prohibition era at the beginning of the 20th century.
History
thumb|[[Benjamin Hanby|Hanby House, circa 1905]]
Native Americans
Cultures have inhabited the Westerville area for several millennia. Paleo-Indians and their successor cultures inhabited the area between Big Walnut Creek and Alum Creek. The Wyandotte were the primary inhabitants by the time Europeans arrived, living along Alum Creek. They were forced out of Ohio in 1843.
Post-Ohio statehood
The land that is today Westerville was settled by those of European ancestry around 1810. Garrit Sharp and his family were the first to establish a residence in what is now Westerville city limits and the settlement was known as Sharp's Settlement. In 1818, Matthew, Peter, and William Westervelt, settlers of Dutch extraction, migrated to the area from New York. Matthew Westervelt donated land for the construction of a Methodist church in 1836, and the settlement was subsequently named in the family's honor. In 1839, the Blendon Young Men's Seminary was chartered in Westerville; Matthew Westervelt was one of its first trustees. The Church of the United Brethren in Christ bought the seminary in 1846, and the next year the seminary was reformed, and renamed Otterbein College after the church's founder Philip William Otterbein. It continues today in Westerville as the private Otterbein University.
Westerville was platted by 1856, and officially incorporated in August 1858. The town's population in that year was 275.
Throughout the Antebellum era, several homes in Westerville were stations on the Underground Railroad. Among these is the Hanby House, located one block from the college. Benjamin Russell Hanby had moved to Westerville in 1849, at the age of sixteen, to enroll at Otterbein University. Hanby went on to write many familiar hymns and songs, among them "Darling Nelly Gray" (inspired by his sympathy for Southern slaves), "Who is He in Yonder Stall?", and the Christmas favorite "Up On The Housetop". His home in Westerville, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was dedicated as a museum in 1937 and is now owned by the Ohio Historical Society and managed locally by the Westerville Historical Society. It is the only state memorial to a composer in the state of Ohio.
"Dry Capital of the World"
An 1859 town ordinance prohibited sales of alcohol in Westerville. By the 1870s, a burgeoning conflict between pro- and anti-temperance forces boiled over into the so-called "Westerville Whiskey Wars". Twice, in 1875 and 1879, businessman Henry Corbin opened a saloon in Westerville, and each time the townspeople blew up his establishment with gunpowder. Westerville's reputation for temperance was so significant that in 1909 the Anti-Saloon League moved its national headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Westerville. The League, at the forefront of the Prohibition movement, gained its greatest triumph when the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1919. The League printed so many leaflets in support of temperance and prohibition—over 40 tons of mail per month—that Westerville, by then known as "The Dry Capital of the World", was the smallest town in the nation to have a first class post office. The League's Westerville headquarters was given to the Westerville Public Library in 1973 and now serves as a museum attached to the library. After Prohibition ended, Westerville remained dry for most of the twentieth century.
Since 1915
In 1916, Westerville became the first village (and second municipality) in Ohio to adopt a council-manager form of government, in which a city council makes policy but the town's administrative and many of its executive governmental functions are vested in an appointed, professional manager. Westerville retains the council-manager system to the present day. The city elects seven council members at large for four-year terms; the council selects from among its own a member to serve as mayor, vice mayor, chair, and vice chair. Under the City Charter, the mayor is only "the ceremonial head of the government" of the city. The council additionally selects the city manager, who serves indefinitely. In 2007, David Collinsworth replaced David Lindimore as city manager after the latter's tenure of twenty-two years. Collinsworth retired in January 2021 alongside assistant City Manager Julie Colley.
In 1995, the city annexed 941 non-dry acres of land to its north, which included several alcohol-selling businesses. Subsequently, voters have approved alcohol sales in old Westerville at a number of establishments through site-specific local options. In 2006 Michael's Pizza served the first beer in Uptown Westerville in over 70 years. On October 15, 2019, Westerville hosted the fourth 2020 Democratic Primary Presidential Debate which had over 12 candidates on stage. To date, it is the largest primary debate in American history. In 2020 Westerville was named as the best suburban city in America based on a study conducted by Movoto Real Estate. The study, which surveyed criteria such as cost of living and crime, compared Westerville to 75 geographically diverse suburban cities across the nation.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Westerville had a population of 39,190. The median age was 41.7 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.4 males age 18 and over.
There were 15,344 households in Westerville, of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 57.4% were married-couple households, 12.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 32,207 || 82.2%
|-
| Black or African American || 3,031 || 7.7%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 79 || 0.2%
|-
| Asian || 1,124 || 2.9%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 6 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 427 || 1.1%
|-
| Two or more races || 2,316 || 5.9%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 1,148 || 2.9%
|}
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 36,120 people, 13,859 households, and 9,800 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 14,467 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.6% White, 6.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population.
There were 13,859 households, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.96.
The median age in the city was 41.2 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 31.1% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.0% male and 53.0% female.
2000 census
thumb|left|Westerville Fire Station 112
As of the census Today, Westerville borders Interstate 71 and Interstate 270 (the Columbus Outerbelt), expressways that connect it with Columbus and other suburbs. Via the interstates, central Westerville is from downtown Columbus and from John Glenn Columbus International Airport, Central Ohio's primary terminal for air passengers. State Route 3, the "3-C Highway" which connects Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, is the chief north–south thoroughfare of the old town center, known as Uptown Westerville, through which it is called State Street.
Streetcars plied the avenues of Westerville from the late nineteenth century but service was discontinued in 1929. Today, Westerville offers little in the way of public transportation. The city itself operates no public buses, but the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) serves Westerville with five bus lines.
Economy
T. Marzetti Company and its parent Lancaster Colony Corporation, as well as Mac Tools are headquartered in Westerville.
Top employers
According to Westerville's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of employees
|-
| 1
| JP Morgan Chase
|3,471
|-
|2
| Mount Carmel Health System
|3,293
|-
|3
| Westerville City Schools
|1,836
|-
|4
| Otterbein University
|1,533
|-
|5
| Central Ohio Primary Care Physician
|1,157
|-
|6
| Exel
|1,058
|-
|7
| OhioHealth
|1,001
|-
|8
| City of Westerville
|887
|-
|9
| ESC of Central Ohio
|828
|-
|10
| Connexions Loyalty Acquisition
|676
|}
Notable people
thumb|upright|[[Gabby Douglas]]
thumb|upright|[[Kaleb Wesson]]
- Sebastian Berhalter (born 2001) — soccer player
- Tim Bezbatchenko (born 1981) — soccer player and sports executive
- Steven Boyer — theatre and television actor
- Ki-Jana Carter — NFL running back
- The Crimson Armada — Extreme Metal band
- Jim Day — host of Reds Live for the Cincinnati Reds
- Buster Douglas — boxer
- Gabby Douglas (born 1995) — gymnast and 2012 Olympic gold medalist
- Johnny Franck - solo musician (Bilmuri)
- Mark Grimsley (born 1959) — American historian
- Benjamin Hanby — 19th-century composer
- Nigel Hayes, Professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns
- Jennifer Hetrick — actor, Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Abhijat Joshi — Bollywood screenplay/script writer
- Andy Katzenmoyer — football player with the New England Patriots
- Nick Kellogg — basketball player for Paris Basketball and Ohio University
- Bob Kennedy — two-time Olympian (1992, 1996)
- John William Lambert — early automotive pioneer and automobile manufacturer
- Perry L. Miles — U.S. army brigadier general, born in Westerville
- Lance Moore — wide receiver for the Detroit Lions; Super Bowl Champion with the New Orleans Saints
- Nick Moore — wide receiver for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- Dan O'Brien — General Manager, Cincinnati Reds
- Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (born 1978) — television writer
- Caleb Shomo — musician and member of Beartooth and Attack Attack!
- Benny Snell (born 1998) — running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers
- Nick Vannett — tight end for the New Orleans Saints, former tight end for Ohio State University
- Kaleb Wesson (born 1999) — basketball player for Maccabi Rishon LeZion of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Andre Wesson (born 1997) — former basketball player for Ohio State University
References
External links
- City website
- Westerville Public Library