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In memory of Benjamin R. Hanby (Otterbein College Class of 1858) whose Christmas song “Up on the House Top” was first given to the world December, 1864.
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This church was organized April 22, 1843, in conjunction with The Central College of Ohio on land donated by Squire Timothy Lee. The college, chartered in March, 1842, continued until 1892. This brick chapel was erected in 1870 under the leadership of the Reverend Levi P. Sabin, and was remodeled during the pastorate of the Reverend Robert B. Wilson, 1943-1953.
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On this site the Blendon Presbyterian Church held services from 1830 to 1865 on land donated by Edward Phelps to the Blendon Township Trustees for church purposes. This marker contributed by Helen Phelps Arn and Eleanor Arn Wagner, descendants of Edward Phelps and erected by the Blendon Township Trustees.
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The Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College grew out of the Cannon Act of March 22, 1870. “But let it be started,” Governor Rutherford B. Hayes told the Legislature in 1873, “with the intention of making it a great State University.” The little college opened September 17, 1873 with a faculty of seven and twenty-four students. One academic building at first housed everything. The campus, remote from the city, was surrounded by some of the original forest. In May, 1878 the name was changed to The Ohio State University. It was after 1900 before it really began to realize its educational potential, and its major growth occurred after World War II. By 1970, the Centennial Year, the university had more then met the hopes of its founders. A leading university with great manpower and physical resources, it had earned high standing in many fields covering a wide range of educational and research activities.
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On this site in 1829 the Presbyterians of Blendon Township built their first church. The land was donated by Timothy Lee for “church and burial” purposes. The Reverend Ebenezer Washburn, buried here, was the first minister. The church was destroyed one week after its dedication by an apparent act of arson.
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This brick home was built in 1856 by John McDannald, son of Samuel and Bell (Craig) McDannald who came from Virginia in 1813. The McDannalds were prominent in the development of Blendon Township, The Central College of Ohio, and The Central College Presbyterian Church. This house served as one station on the Ohio Underground Railroad.
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Worthington was the center of Masonry for the central Ohio area in the early years of the nineteenth century. New England Lodge, with its original charter from the Grand Lodge of Connecticut dated 1803, is the oldest lodge in continuous existence in Ohio. This building, erected in 1820, is the oldest Masonic Temple west of the Allegheny Mountains. [Masonic Emblem]
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Song writer and minister of the United Brethren Church, Hanby was an Otterbein College graduate, class of 1858, known throughout the world for the inspiring songs, “Darling Nellie Gray,” “Up on the Housetop,” and “Who is He in Yonder Stall.” Hanby House in Westerville is maintained as a memorial honoring Benjamin and his father, Bishop William Hanby.