This historic home stands along high street, just north of Olde Worthington. It was once the…read moreresidence of Orange Johnson , a local comb-maker, and a few other families. The oldest part of the house was built in 1811 by Arora Buttles, which includes the kitchen with the original walk-in fireplace and a bread oven. The federal style facade and four more rooms were added by Johnson in 1816, making it one of central Ohio's oldest homes still standing in its original location. The Orange Johnson House is decorated in period furniture from important early Worthington families. It also houses a small museum of objects from Worthington's early colonial history, as well as Native American artifacts and a collection of 19th century women's hair combs and comb making tools. Costume-clad docents lead guided tours through the Orange Johnson House on Sundays from 2 until 5, from April through December- or by appointment. The museum is owned and operated by the Worthington Historical Society. A great time of year to visit is either during the holidays, when the home is decorated to the gilt or during midsummer when the herb garden is in full bloom and the lavender is just gorgeous!

I went with my daughter on a school field trip. It was very well done, the guides were dressed in…read morePioneer dress. They were knowledgeable and did a fantastic job.

One of Columbus's best kept secrets. I love homes that don't destroy the footprints of the land…read morethey were built on. I wish they would do a tour a let us see some of the insides of these lovely homes!

This is a very intriguing neighborhood to walk or drive through, in regards to the architecture…read more The style was strongly influenced by the design of Frank Lloyd Wright (though none were actually designed by the architect himself) - the actual architect was one who had worked on some of Wright's buildings, Theodore Van Fossen. The initial home and the idea were that of the Wakefields, with Martha getting the credit for the idea and her husband Richard for the construction, per the signage in the neighborhood. While a close-up tour would be fascinating, these properties are privately owned and lived in, so being mindful and respectful of that is appropriate. Nonetheless, you can still definitely get the vibe and vision from a nice stroll. The homes were designed to work with each other visually, as well as with the landscaping, which includes ravines. I heard they did have organized tours at times pre-pandemic, and that would certainly be something interesting to do should those start up again.

Took K here for the Barbie exhibit. She loved it, and wanted half the Barbies (and knew some of…read morethe history already.) Housed in a nice historic building, it's just three small rooms. But they are nicely arranged and chock-full of interesting dolls, some almost 200 years old. There's a printed guide, and a treasure hunt sheet. The staff are super friendly and talked to Baby K a lot, about the displays and about her dolls. There are furnished rooms with interesting artifacts as well as antiques for sale, but we barely saw those. Definitely worth a visit if you are anywhere nearby, and a detour if you are at all into dolls like some K.

During the family trip to Columbus and while my brother was taking the exam for his insurance…read moreagent's license, my mom and me decided to explore. I told her there was this great antique store I wanted to try and brought her over to The Doll Museum at the Old Rectory as a surprise. My mom loves dolls. Still owns several of them. She used to have a ton of them. I never really liked them, they used to creep me out as a kid as I sometimes felt they were watching me. Still she absolutely loves them and I thought it would be a fun surprise for her to visit a Doll Museum. Anyway she realized the surprise as soon as she saw the sign. I laughed when she said... you lied! You said this was an antique store... well its both i responded! We walked in and were greeted by two sweet ladies who are part of Worthington Historical Society. They told us a bit about the society as well as the history of the building we were in, which was built back in 1845 as the Rectory of St.Johns Episcopal Church. It now holds the Doll Museum which has 19th and 20th Century dolls from all over the world and also has an antique/consignment store attached. They took us on a tour of the place and talked about the dolls they had on display. My mom was so happy throughout the tour, and made the entire trip to Columbus worth it. Once we were finished we shopped in the antique store where i found an antique porcelain figurine from Denmark, a few items i thought would make my living room look nicer, and some jewelry I bought for my bestie. I got her this vintage turquoise bracelet! Also the proceeds help fund the historical society, so it was for a good cause! My whole experience here was wonderful. Although I will never love dolls... i love antique stores. By the end, we left with a smile on our faces ready to continue enjoying our family trip. If you are into dolls or antiques, definitely come check this place out!

The city of Worthington, founded in 1803, is one of the oldest towns in central Ohio. The…read moreWorthington Historical Society was founded in 1955 as an organization to protect the heritage of the village. The historical society now owns the historic Orange Johnson House, which is a living museum; the Old Rectory, which houses a Doll Museum; and an Indian Mound on on Plesenton Drive. The mound, which is among a few left in Ohio, is made available to Ohio State University for archaeological studies. The Worthington Historical Society is best known for its annual tour of homes, which takes place in July.

From the owner: The Old Rectory, owned by the Worthington Historical Society, houses a Gift Shop with consigned and…read moredonated antiques & collectibles, as well as a Doll Museum that specializes in 19th and 20th century dolls.

I have lived in OH for over 15 years and cannot believe I've never visited this site! Enjoyed…read morereading about how the sculpture came to be. The QR code lets you listen to a recording of the sculptor himself. The 12' sculpture can be climbed on from the rear and presents a nice view of the area. Lots of areas for picnicking and amphitheater for concerts.

This is a really cool quick stop. The monument is impressive. The park is so quiet and pleasant. We…read moreeven saw deer visiting. The river is pretty. Parking is plentiful and there are restrooms.

It is hard to miss this impressive mound rising into the sky once you get to the top of the bluff…read morethat Plesenton Drive sits upon. An Ohio Historical Marker plaque is set into a large stone in front of it that details that this is thought to have been built by the Hopewell people between 100 BC and 400 AD and was actually once part of a larger earthworks construction. There is also a series of posts that have been placed such that their tops are visible in the grass near the base of the mound to demonstrate where a pole house would have stood. The Worthington Historical Society takes care of the property and offers a lot of fascinating information on their website, including the history of the location, the excavations conducted by archaeologists, and more. It's really awe-inspiring to take a walk around the mound, which is now covered in tall grasses and several trees, and to walk around the location of the pole house, and there is enough space preserved around them both to be able to do so. Street parking is available on a couple of sides of the mound.

Walhalla Ravine was a saving grace for me and my family all 7 years that I lived in Columbus. This…read moreis a sacred and divine place, and no ghost story or urban legend of a single person's violence can have dominion over the beauty and sanctuary of this forested gem. Every spring, this land supports new life in abundance. Every autumn the leaves put on a magnificent show. Its cool and gentle presence in the summer heat is a gift of the Earth. Winter makes a real-life snowy postcard. PSA: Please drive slow past this rare beauty in the spring and summer as there are breathtakingly sweet deer that cross with their babies. The City of Columbus won't put up a deer crossing sign until there are 5 car accidents at the Walhalla-Indianola intersection. How do I know? I asked for a sign after witnessing a near-collision between a car and a fawn. They told me no. In conclusion, this is really a slice of Fólkvangr on Earth.

As others have mentioned, Walhalla Ravine is most well known for two things: being a lovely and…read moreunique natural feature near the city and having ghost stories in its history. We decided to visit to enjoy the leaves changing in the beautiful ravine, and less so because of the ghosts, though we did joke about them when we first arrived. That may have been our mistake, because, halfway through our walk on Walhalla, after passing the Calumet Street Bridge (which plays a significant role in some of the ghost stories), we heard the loud, unmistakable sound of a large tree cracking echoing throughout the ravine. In what was probably 10 seconds, but felt like time extended into slow-mo, we identified the extremely large falling tree and barely managed to avoid being struck by it as it collapsed across the road, jumping just beyond its reach. Other walkers who had been further back but saw everything even exclaimed over how close of a call it was. The ravine itself is beautiful and has some interesting geology. There were some great sections of potato chip shale that were really neat to look at. A stream meanders down one side of the street, most of which is on private property. Many of the houses have unique architecture and some are historic, and quite a few folks have added some really fun art to the yards - we especially enjoyed a large dragon sculpture made of metal that was decorated with OSU gear, the cute painting of a mama duck and ducklings, and a fun deer sculpture made of wood. The leaves were absolutely lovely and managed to hang on despite the wind we had a few days prior. So, go enjoy a lovely walk, but don't make fun of the ghosts and avoid their retribution!

Excellent! Tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Lots of pieces of history here…read more Highly recommended.

Did you ever wonder why Westerville remained "dry" until just a few years ago? Not many people are…read moreaware the Prohibition movement began as a moral crusade right here in Ohio. In Oberlin, to be exact, but it moved to Westerville in 1893. Back in the late 19th century, the movement to make alcohol illegal was spawned in our very back yard. It was known as the "Anti-Saloon League" and its headquarters was moved to Westerville, and remained active from 1893 to 1933. National politics was influenced through the printed word and lobbying and eventually, Prohibition was enacted by Constitutional amendment. A truly amazing story. The League bequeathed an important collection of written material to the Westerville Public Library which houses the Anti-Saloon League Museum. It is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9:00am-6:00pm and by appointment. A very cool piece of national history in Westerville!

Worthington Town Green is the space at the intersection of High Street and 161. I pass through it…read moremany times without thinking much about it. There's always some bulletin about the high school play. It also gets decorated for the seasons. This is nice to get out and walk through. I think this space is very overlooked. It's not just an intersection. There's a lot of small shops and cool restaurants not far from there. It has kind of a colonial feel due to Worthington's history as an early settlement in Ohio. The Worthington Inn is one of the oldest hotels in Ohio, and there's lots of other historical buildings. I would stop to admire the Worthington Town Green instead of whizzing through. It teems with lots of character and history. Try to get out and check out the shops.

Familiarity breeds contempt or so the cliche goes; it is a human foible to disregard our…read morecommunities' virtues hiding in plain sight under the ordinary rut of our everyday. That's why we travel, why it is so valuable to leave town for awhile--another throwaway phrase: the grass is always greener. But few of us can travel everyday, week, or month. The beauty though is we can get a similar high by exploring our own neighborhoods. By getting out of our cars and out of the box that is our daily errands and habitual destinations we can see, as if for the first time, sights that we miss buzzing up and down that same old highway. Sights filled with history, or unique vision, sights that are natural, beautiful, or just plain weird. The Worthington Village Green is one of those places, a New England style town square chopped into quads by the busiest intersection in north Franklin County-- 161 and High Street. The square is the oldest man made green space in central Ohio. It was created by the original settlers, who brought the New England town aesthetics with them. The 3.5 acres are still used today for festivals, events, and a sequence of concerts in the summer. As designed, historic houses and buildings spanning several architectural movements ring the square. Small cape cods and touching American Four Squares are easy to identify. The Worthington Presbyterian Church, circa 1927, is a well maintained example of Colonial Revivalism and rises stately on the Northwestern quad. My favorite building is the dark brick St John's Episcopal Church shading the Southeastern side. It has to be the oldest Church in central Ohio, and one of the oldest in the state as it was built in 1831. It has a sharp crowned tower sliced with abat-sons in white. It's medieval like arches, dark wooden doors, and steep, low gables gives away its Gothic revival style, an early example not often found in town. Behind is a historical goldmine, an ancient graveyard with slate tombstones and weather worn stone. These are of some of the original families who built the church by hand from stone quarried at Whetstone ravine, which is now the Park of Roses. Their is a nice colonnade that wraps the square with nice lighting at night. There are black benches to rest your feet. The green sits center of the Worthington Historical District named in 2010. It is a great place to explore and see your city and community in a new light, or walk off some pounds after eating tat Whitney or the other great food near by