Bridgestreet Woods at Polaris Parkway

windoweb's new Westerville Page

by windoweb

Westerville, Ohio is a community with a rich history and heritage. In the more than 175 years since the first settlers arrived, the people of Westerville have worked hard to make it a place of which they could be proud.

On June 24, 1806, Edward Phelps and his family set out for Ohio from Windsor, Connecticut. He had purchased 500 acres of land along Alum Creek. The journey lasted two months and they arrived on August 22, 1806. The area was wild and densely wooded but the promise was there...rich soil and a plentiful water supply. They cleared the land and built a cabin.

Soon, others joined these first settlers, including the Westervelt brothers who arrived in 1816 from New York State. By 1838 there were about 900 people in Blendon Township, which by then included several frame cottages among the log cabins along the unpaved streets. Land was donated by the Westervelt family for a new school, called the Blendon Young Men's Seminary. In 1840, when a name for the new postoffice was needed, the townspeople called it Westerville in honor of the Westervelts' generosity.