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Frances Payne Bolton (1885-1977) was the first woman from Ohio to serve in the United States Congress. Elected in 1940 to complete the term of her late husband, Chester C. Bolton, Mrs. Bolton represented the 22nd District for 28 years. Her life long advocacy of nursing education is reflected in both her philanthropy and the legislation she supported. Her gift to Western Reserve University in 1923 enabled the school to set up one of the first college-based nursing programs in the country. The school was renamed the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in her honor in 1935. The Bolton Bill she supported in Congress created the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps to address the critical shortage of nurses during World War II.
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William E. Telling (1869-1938) was one of ten children born in a farmhouse on this property. As a boy he sold strawberries and milk door-to-door and worked in a local sandstone quarry until at age 23 he purchased a milk route. He and four brothers formed the Telling Brothers Ice Cream Company in 1895 with William as president. A merger in 1915 formed the Telling Belle Vernon Dairy Company that was the first local distributor of pasteurized, glass-bottled milk. Their unique bacteriological laboratory (later Sealtest Laboratories) developed the baby food S.M.A. His recipe for success was “just work and work and work some more; do the work of two and draw the pay of one.”
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Built in 1852 and dedicated a year later, St. Patrick Church is the second oldest Roman Catholic Church in Columbus. Founded as the English speaking parish, this church of Norman Gothic design served as the home for three future bishops. Located on Naghten Street, the “Irish Broadway” of the nineteenth century, St. Patrick’s parish provided a vital place for the acculturation of the neighborhood Irish immigrants into mainstream American society. The Irish heritage is remembered through the shamrocks that emblazon the heads of each pew. Severely damaged by “the Great Fire” in 1935, the church was quickly restored and serves today as a vibrant religious center for central Ohio. The Dominican Fathers have staffed St. Patrick Church since 1885.
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America’s World War I “Ace of Aces,” Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was born in Columbus in 1890 to Swiss immigrant parents, leaving school at age 12 to help support his family. Working for several Columbus automobile companies initiated his love of racing, and he achieved fame as a race driver and team owner between 1910 and 1916. Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1917, he went to France as staff driver for General John Pershing with ambitions of becoming a combat flier. He managed a transfer to the American Expeditionary Force’s Aviation Instruction Center, learned to fly, and was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron, the famed “Hat in the Ring” squadron led by ace Raoul Lufbery. (continued on other side)
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Pilgrim Elementary School, now East Pilgrim, was the community school for the Mount Vernon area and was a focal point for community activities. The Parent Teacher Association was active with members of the community and the school was used as a meeting place. The 1977 Ohio Supreme Court case of Penick v. The Columbus School Board ended the segregation of schools in Columbus. Students from Pilgrim were bussed to other schools in the district.
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The Shiloh Baptist Church was completed in 1923. Founded in 1869, Shiloh is the third oldest African-American church in Columbus and is a descendent of the Second Baptist Church. The church is located in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood, which is adjacent to the central businesses of Columbus and Interstate 71. The dominant physical presence of Shiloh Baptist Church shows its importance as a religious and social institution for more than one hundred years in the Mt. Vernon area.
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The commercial area of Mount Vernon Avenue originated in the early 1900s as a safe haven for African-American people segregated from the primarily white community of the time. Not permitted to enter many businesses in downtown Columbus during the 1940s, a distinct economy was created, building on establishments already developed in the area. The construction of Interstate 71 through Columbus and the social upheaval and riots of 1967 injured the community to the point where many moved away. Today, Mount Vernon Avenue survives and is being targeted for economic and historic revitalization.
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