In 1973, the Anti-Saloon League (or, by that time, the Temperance Education Foundation), gifted their headquarters to the Westerville Public Library. In its heyday, the Anti-Saloon League led the effort to pass the Prohibition amendment to ban the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol in the United States. The property was full of Prohibition-era artifacts, memorabilia, and propaganda. With no known family members of the Anti-Saloon League leaders left residing in the area, the remaining members gave it all to the library to ensure it was preserved.

At the time, the library didn’t have the space or funds to properly store all the historic materials onsite while the Ohio History Connection (OHC) had an almost-new state museum and archive. The two organizations entered into an agreement to “permanently loan” the Anti-Saloon League collection to OHC, where it would be housed safely in their reference library and made available to the public.

After more than 50 years, it’s time to bring more than 600-linear-feet of materials back to the library and museum. Some examples of items that have already been returned are currently on display in The Art of Propaganda exhibit, including lantern slides and posters.

“The Westerville History Museum (located inside the library) has the largest collection of Prohibition materials in the U.S., and maybe the world. This collection is our priority and foundational to our identity. We are grateful to the Ohio History Connection for keeping it close by and safe on behalf of the public all these years. As the museum has grown and expanded, we are ready to bring it back together in one place and expand access for visitors and both local and international researchers in a more robust way,” shares Jackie Barton, manager of the Westerville History Museum.

Kickstarting the big move is a $13,827 grant awarded by The Columbus Foundation’s J. Terry Hayman Fund that will allow the museum to purchase storage furniture to safely and responsibly house the Anti-Saloon League collection. Flat files and shelving will accommodate

the oversized photographs, posters, books, and other printed materials currently housed by OHC. All furniture purchased will adhere to the storage furniture guidelines given by the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), one of the premier conservation labs in the country for paper-based collections. Following these guidelines will minimize any risk of damage to the collection and ensure the museum invests in furniture of long-lasting materials.

People who have spent time with this collection include Dr. Meg Lamme who used it for her research while at the University of Alabama and Bill Heaphy who logged over 340 volunteer hours in 2023, many of which were spent cataloging items from this collection that have been brought back to the library.

“Reuniting the collection will, in my opinion, create a treasure of Prohibition documentation here in Westerville. For example, I have studied maybe between 3,000-4,000 items in the collection, and I can only describe these pamphlets, leaflets, books, posters, postcards, and photographs...as historically significant, stimulating, and valuable resources for Westerville citizens, adult and youth, to celebrate,” says Bill.

The Westerville History Museum will begin moving its historically significant Anti-Saloon League collection back to Westerville in Winter 2024.

About the J. Terry Hayman Fund

The Haymans – John and Mary Ellen – were faithful Westerville Historical Society members. Their son Terry carried on his family’s love of Westerville and Westerville history with a bequest through The Columbus Foundation that is funding important projects related to history in our community. Terry was a lifelong resident of Westerville and a graduate of Westerville South High School. He passed away in 2019.

In 2022, the Westerville Public Library and Westerville History Museum received $5,589 from the J. Terry Hayman Fund to improve archival storage for historic collections of photographs, artwork, and oversized artifacts. Learn more about that project.