NEW - Vol. 4 No. 1, spring 2025 Journal!
Arriving in members’ mailboxes next month!
The Columbus Historical Society is excited to announce the publication of a new issue of Columbus History, A Journal of the Columbus Historical Society! This latest issue will be free to CHS members. Members should receive their copy in the upcoming weeks. It is available for sale to the public at CHS events and in CHS properties and on Amazon!
This issue includes articles about the history of Columbus, Ohio, and surrounding areas. In this issue, Columbus History editor Bob Hunter has three articles on the old North Graveyard, which was located in what is now the Short North section of the city before most of the remains were removed in the nineteenth century; Doug Tracy has a story on Clyde Felix Stratton, the "prince of jailbreakers,' who escaped from the Ohio Penitentiary twice and more than 60 jails in all; Jim Tootle has an article on the 76th anniversary of three-foot, even-inch Eddie Gaedel batting for the St. Louis Browns in 1951, a stunt that was eerily similar to a story written by Columbus native James Thurber years earlier; Christophe A. Amatos has a story on the little known Columbus Stock Market, that operated for 31 years and has all but been forgotten today; and Nena Couch had a story about the play Inherit the Wind, which was modeled after the famous John Scopes trial by two writers Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee., who had backgrounds with Ohio State and Ohio Wesleyan.
Previous Journals
Published March 15, 2023, This issue includes a story by Bob Hunter about a long dispute over the location of William Henry Harrison's headquarters during the War of 1812 in the Columbus neighborhood of Franklinton; a story by James Tootle about Columbus native son Hank Gowdy, hero of the 1914 World Series and the first major league baseball player to volunteer for military service during World War I and more!
This first issue is available for sale to the public at CHS events and in CHS properties, and on Amazon.
Published November 19, 2023, this second issue includes an article by Angela O’Neal and Aaron O'Donovan on the 150-year history of the Columbus Metropolitan Library and the libraries that preceded it, a story by Bob Hunter about noted Wyandot chief Tarhe, the Crane, and his long relationship with the Columbus area; an article by Doug Tracy on a popular 1950s and 1960s line dance called the Madison, which got its start in Columbus and more!
This second issue is available for sale to the public at CHS events and in CHS properties, and on Amazon.
Published May 5, 2024, this third issue includes an article about the David Deardurff house, the oldest house (1807) on its original foundation in Columbus by, Columbus History editor Bob Hunter; a story on the Stephens family, who lived, worked and played in Green Lawn Cemetery for over sixty years, by Bruce Warner; a story about three Columbus/Ohio State athletes in the 1924 Olympics in Paris by Rusty Wilson and more!
This third issue is available for sale to the public at CHS events and in CHS properties, and on Amazon.
Published November 30, 2024, this issue includes an article about the Southern Theatre and the theater greats who have appeared on its stage since its opening in 1896, by Columbus History editor Bob Hunter; a piece about Big Walnut Country Club, one of the first African American country clubs in the nation, by Doug and Debbie Tracy; a story by musician Arnett Howard about jump blues legend Archie "Stomp" Gordon and his scrapbook entries and more!
This fourth issue is available for sale to the public at CHS events and in CHS properties, and on Amazon.
Published April 5, 2025, this issue includes a story about the history of Engine House No. 6, the West Broad Street fire house that is the future home of the CHS by Doug Tracy; a story about Columbus naturalist, taxidermist, author and bookseller Oliver Davie by Genie Hoster; a story about singer Madam Rose Brown, who went from local bars and clubs to Broadway and back before becoming a local television and radio personality by David Meyers; a story about the 1939 Ohio State basketball team, which wasn't too thrilled about having to play in the first NCAA basketball tournament because they didn't know what it was (but finished second), by Columbus History editor Bob Hunter; a story by Jeff Coon that examines Civil War letters that show what life was like in Camp Jackson and Camp Chase in Columbus and more!
This fifth issue is available for sale to the public at CHS events and in CHS properties, and on Amazon.
Published October 24, 2025, this issue includes a story about the book of transcripts of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates that was published in 1860 by Follett, Foster and Company in Columbus, a story about M.C. Lilley & Company, a well-known Columbus company that was once the world's largest producer of regalia and related products, a story about former major league baseball player and Columbus resident Benny Kauff, whose lifetime ban on baseball was recently lifted with 16 others including Pete Rose, a piece on famous literary figure William Dean Howells, whose career got a boost from his years in Columbus, a story about singing group The Harmonaires, who went from the city's Curtiss-Wright aircraft plant to radio, television, stage, and screen, and a story about Columbus-based Ohio Medical College and its football team, which counted Notre Dame and Ohio State among its rivals until mergers eventually saw it absorbed into OSU. This issue also has book review of the CHS children's book Ryan's Rescue, which was written by Diana I. Kline and illustrated by Suzy Cornetet.
This sixth issue is available for sale to the public at CHS events and in CHS properties, and on Amazon.
