Wondering why the Anti-Saloon League was located in the heart of Westerville, Ohio? Did you know that Westerville played a large part in the Prohibition movement?

Westerville Whiskey Wars

Westerville, incorporated in 1858, was one of the first villages in Ohio to pass a local prohibition ordinance. The law was challenged by local businessman Henry Corbin on two occasions, in 1875 and 1879, resulting in the dynamiting of his saloons in a series of events referred to as "the Westerville Whiskey Wars."

Dry Capital of the World

Westerville earned its nickname, Dry Capital of the World, after the Anti-Saloon League of America moved its headquarters and printing company, American Issue Publishing Company, here in 1909. The League printed so much anti-alcohol material in support of temperance and prohibition (over 40 tons of mail per month) that Westerville became the smallest town in the nation to have a first-class post office.

From 1893 to 1933, the Anti-Saloon League was a major force in American politics. Influencing the citizens of the United States through printed word and lobbying, it turned a moral crusade into the 18th Amendment to the Constitution banning the sale of alcohol.

In 1973, the League left a legacy of printed material at a site bequeathed to the Westerville Public Library, which now houses this collection in the Westerville History Museum.

Ken Burns Visits Museum in 2011

In September 2011, famous documentary filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick visited the library to promote their PBS series on Prohibition. The library, home to the Anti-Saloon League Museum, provided primary source materials such as pictures, pamphlets and cartoons for the series.