Colonial Hills
Encyclopedia
Colonial Hills is a subdivision of 873 single-family home
s located in the city of Worthington, Ohio
, a northern suburb of the state capital, Columbus
. Built by the Defense Homes Corporation
to meet the needs of World War II
production and the post-war boom, it continues to be a viable community today.
and the demands for war
housing to move the project into reality.
The modern history of the land that Colonial Hills is built on began with the Northwest Ordinance
of July 13, 1787. Congress established government for the Northwest Territory, a region that included the future states of Ohio
, Indiana
, Illinois
, Michigan
and Wisconsin
. The ordinance also outlawed slavery
in the region. On June 1, 1796 the Congress established a U.S. Military District to satisfy land claims of revolutionary war
veterans. This included the northern half of the future Franklin County
. In 1797, Israel Ludlow
surveyed the Military Lands
and divided them into townships 5 miles (8 km) square. Colonial Hills would be located in Sharon Township
until its annexation to Worthington in the 1950s. Beginning with the settlement of Worthington in 1803, the land became a farm lot. It remained a farm until 1942 when construction of houses began.
The initial subdivision was titled Colonial Hills and was platted on October 11, 1927 by the Jennings-Lawrence Company, This initial plat consisted of only Riverglen Drive, Southington Avenue, Colonial Avenue, Park Boulevard, Meadoway, Loveman Avenue and Kenbrook Drive. These plans remained shelved until February 18, 1940, when a colonial style model home was opened to the public at 36 East Southington Avenue as part of the 1940 Model Home Show of Columbus. Due to the depression
, however, private individuals did not possess the resources to buy new houses and the development remained stalled. The homes that the Federal Government financed in 1942 were much less elaborate than 36 East Southington Avenue.
chose the vacant Colonial Hills site and chose Overland Realty to act as its agent. The 1925 plat was modified to add Selby Boulevard, Selby Park and Indianola Park. Most of the original Plat, excepting Kenbrook Drive, was shelved as a phase II development to be built later. Curiously, the name was changed to the more elaborate Colonial Hills and Dales. The initial 200 homes were located on Selby Boulevard, North Selby, South Selby and Kenbrook Drive. Ten homes on the west side of Indianola Avenue were also part of the initial build, 5493, 5503, 5515, 5531, 5539, 5547, 5555, 5571, 5579 and 5587. This plat shows Kenbrook Drive bisecting Indianola Park. Apparently during the expansion after the war it was decided to terminate Kenbrook Drive at Indianola Avenue and extend Indianola Park farther north.
Also note the presence of alleys. These were designed to be 16 feet (4.9 m) wide to provide access to utilities and provide a place for residents to burn their trash. The alleys were taken out of service in the 1950s by Worthington City Ordinance 117-57. Presumably, with annexation to Worthington, trash pickup began and the alleys were no longer needed. The alleys were divided and attached to their adjacent properties. Some fences still follow the old alley edges.
, with offices at 15 N. High Street in downtown Columbus was chosen to design the homes. Nine styles of home were designed to be replicated throughout the initial order of 200 homes. The project was budgeted at $1,250,000.
To save time and money while building military bases and offices, the U.S. Government turned to the United States Gypsum
corporation for a product dating from 1916 called sheetrock
. Before the war, American homes were routinely plastered inside—a painstaking process that could consume weeks where no other trade could work inside the house. Despite the expense and labor intensity of plastering, and the successful use of sheetrock in most of the buildings at the Chicago’s World’s Fair of 1933-34, sheetrock had not caught on. But the urgencies of wartime construction changed all that (Gellner, 2003). Colonial Hills and Dales was one of the first sites in the nation to utilize sheetrock rather than plaster
construction.
Construction was well underway by January, 1942. The work site included a lunch room for the 400 workers. By October 1942, two homes were sufficiently completed to be opened to the public for inspection although landscaping had yet to be completed.
):
This restriction was placed in the deed before Colonial Hills became a government funded project, but no effort was ever made to remove it. Indeed, in the August 28, 1942 deed drawn up by the Defense Homes Corporation
and Overland Realty the restriction remains. The restriction was nullified by the Federal Fair Housing Act
of April 11, 1968.
by five years.
The homes remained rental units throughout the war. Many of the tenants held white collar jobs at the Curtis Wright Aviation Plant located at the airport
.
The demand for postwar housing caused the Overland Realty Co. to dust off the 1927 plat. On August 8, 1946 this plat was slightly modified to connect Kenbrook and Loveman together in a "U" shape at the western end of those streets. The original plat had the two streets merging, much as North and South Selby do, and then the merged street, named Bromley Avenue, would proceed through the Kenyon Brook subdivision to Southington Avenue. This change accounts for the relatively large lot sizes around the circle at the end of Lake Ridge Road.
An additional 645 lots were added to Colonial Hills and construction ran through the early 1950s. Many of these new homes featured two story design, basements and aluminum framed windows. This brought the size of Colonial Hills to over 800 families with an eventual population of 3,100.
Sharon Township
was being rapidly converted from farmland to higher value retail and housing development. Both Columbus and Worthington wanted to add this valuable new property to their cities. Deciding between remaining part of the township, annexing to Columbus or annexing to Worthington was difficult. Tax rates in Columbus were $20 per $1000 of valued property, while the township was charging $26.20 and in Worthington, $29.20. The typical taxpayer in Colonial Hills paid $200 in annual property tax.
Concerned about the cost of providing services to Colonial Hills, many of Worthington's 2000 residents fought the annexation for two years until November 2, 1954 when Colonial Hills was annexed to Worthington. This increased the population of Worthington to more than 5000, and changed its status from Village to City. Colonial Hills Elementary School was promptly constructed and opened in 1955.
In 1950s, Colonial Hills hosted a July Fourth celebration that was a major event for the north side of Columbus. A parade with hundreds of children in costume, floats and horse drawn wagons made its way along Andover to Selby Park, where tents were set up. Fireworks followed.
and Interstate 71
across Ohio, the City of Columbus began construction expressways that would link to the new Interstate System. The portion of Interstate 71 that bounds Worthington's eastern edge was called The North Freeway, cost 13.8 million dollars, and was constructed south from State Route 161, arriving at 11th avenue by August, 1961. It took a year to get from 11th Avenue to 5th Avenue, mostly due to the need to construct a massive underpass under the Pennsylvania Railroad
's Grogan Yard. Ironically, today only two tracks cross the viaduct, the rest of the structure supports a large, weedy field. By August 1962, the freeway had reached Fifth Avenue, and reached downtown in November 1962. It wasn't until 1966 that I-71 was complete between Cincinnati
and Cleveland
.
I-270
(the Outerbelt) was proposed in the early 1960s with the north section to be routed through the deaf school just north of Graceland Shopping Center. This proposal was fought by residents of Clintonville and Beechwold through 1961. In October, 1961, after an extensive letter writing campaign by local residents, Ohio Governor Michael DiSalle
announced that the freeway would be built north of Worthington. In August, 1967, the first section of Outerbelt between North High Street and I-71 opened. The outerbelt was finally completed in August, 1975 at a total cost of 150 million dollars.
State Route 315 was the most contentious of the area's freeways, and its construction was not completed until 1981. Its construction involved relocating the Olentangy River between the Outerbelt and 161.
over sixty years ago.
Single-family home
A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family dwelling.- Definitions :...
s located in the city of Worthington, Ohio
Worthington, Ohio
-Dissolution of the Company:By August 11, 1804 the plat maps were completed, payments or notes promising payments collected and deeds prepared for all sixteen thousand acres of the Scioto Company's purchase...
, a northern suburb of the state capital, Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. Built by the Defense Homes Corporation
Defense Homes Corporation
The Defense Homes Corporation was created October 23, 1940 to finance housing for war industry workers.- History :The Defense Homes Corporation was incorporated pursuant to a letter of President Roosevelt to the Secretary of the Treasury on October 18, 1940 to finance housing for war industries...
to meet the needs of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
production and the post-war boom, it continues to be a viable community today.
History
Colonial Hills was constructed in the early 1940s, but plans to build a subdivision there date to the great real estate boom of the 1920s. It took the involvement of the federal governmentFederal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
and the demands for war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
housing to move the project into reality.
Early settlement
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States, passed July 13, 1787...
of July 13, 1787. Congress established government for the Northwest Territory, a region that included the future states of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. The ordinance also outlawed slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in the region. On June 1, 1796 the Congress established a U.S. Military District to satisfy land claims of revolutionary war
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
veterans. This included the northern half of the future Franklin County
Franklin County, Ohio
Franklin County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. In 2010 the population was 1,163,414, making it the second largest county in Ohio and the 34th largest county in population in the United States. Franklin County is also the largest in the eight-county Columbus, Ohio...
. In 1797, Israel Ludlow
Israel Ludlow
Israel Ludlow was a government surveyor who helped found Cincinnati, Dayton and Hamilton in southwest Ohio.Israel Ludlow was born near Morristown, New Jersey in 1765. In 1786, each of the thirteen states was to appoint a man to help survey the Seven Ranges in the easternmost portion of the...
surveyed the Military Lands
United States Military District
The United States Military District was a land tract in central Ohio that was established by the Congress to compensate veterans of the American Revolutionary War for their service...
and divided them into townships 5 miles (8 km) square. Colonial Hills would be located in Sharon Township
Sharon Township, Franklin County, Ohio
Sharon Township is one of the seventeen townships of Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 16,455 people in the township, 1,831 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
until its annexation to Worthington in the 1950s. Beginning with the settlement of Worthington in 1803, the land became a farm lot. It remained a farm until 1942 when construction of houses began.
The initial subdivision was titled Colonial Hills and was platted on October 11, 1927 by the Jennings-Lawrence Company, This initial plat consisted of only Riverglen Drive, Southington Avenue, Colonial Avenue, Park Boulevard, Meadoway, Loveman Avenue and Kenbrook Drive. These plans remained shelved until February 18, 1940, when a colonial style model home was opened to the public at 36 East Southington Avenue as part of the 1940 Model Home Show of Columbus. Due to the depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, however, private individuals did not possess the resources to buy new houses and the development remained stalled. The homes that the Federal Government financed in 1942 were much less elaborate than 36 East Southington Avenue.
United States Federal Government intervention
In the fall of 1941, the Federal Government recognized that there was a lack of suitable housing for executives engaged in war production in Columbus, and began a search for an appropriate place to construct such homes. The Defense Homes CorporationDefense Homes Corporation
The Defense Homes Corporation was created October 23, 1940 to finance housing for war industry workers.- History :The Defense Homes Corporation was incorporated pursuant to a letter of President Roosevelt to the Secretary of the Treasury on October 18, 1940 to finance housing for war industries...
chose the vacant Colonial Hills site and chose Overland Realty to act as its agent. The 1925 plat was modified to add Selby Boulevard, Selby Park and Indianola Park. Most of the original Plat, excepting Kenbrook Drive, was shelved as a phase II development to be built later. Curiously, the name was changed to the more elaborate Colonial Hills and Dales. The initial 200 homes were located on Selby Boulevard, North Selby, South Selby and Kenbrook Drive. Ten homes on the west side of Indianola Avenue were also part of the initial build, 5493, 5503, 5515, 5531, 5539, 5547, 5555, 5571, 5579 and 5587. This plat shows Kenbrook Drive bisecting Indianola Park. Apparently during the expansion after the war it was decided to terminate Kenbrook Drive at Indianola Avenue and extend Indianola Park farther north.
Also note the presence of alleys. These were designed to be 16 feet (4.9 m) wide to provide access to utilities and provide a place for residents to burn their trash. The alleys were taken out of service in the 1950s by Worthington City Ordinance 117-57. Presumably, with annexation to Worthington, trash pickup began and the alleys were no longer needed. The alleys were divided and attached to their adjacent properties. Some fences still follow the old alley edges.
Architecture & project cost
A young architect, Todd TibbalsTodd Tibbals
Todd Tibbals was an American architect who was active in the Columbus, Ohio area in the middle part of the twentieth century.-Early years:...
, with offices at 15 N. High Street in downtown Columbus was chosen to design the homes. Nine styles of home were designed to be replicated throughout the initial order of 200 homes. The project was budgeted at $1,250,000.
Construction
The houses were actually prefabricated off site and delivered in pieces by the New York Central railroad to the Potter Lumber company at State Route 161 and Proprietors Road. They were trucked to the site and installed.To save time and money while building military bases and offices, the U.S. Government turned to the United States Gypsum
United States Gypsum
USG Corporation , also known as United States Gypsum Corporation, is a Fortune 500 company that manufactures construction materials. USG Corporation was organized on January 1, 1985 as the holding company of its subsidiaries...
corporation for a product dating from 1916 called sheetrock
Drywall
Drywall, also known as plasterboard, wallboard or gypsum board is a panel made of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper...
. Before the war, American homes were routinely plastered inside—a painstaking process that could consume weeks where no other trade could work inside the house. Despite the expense and labor intensity of plastering, and the successful use of sheetrock in most of the buildings at the Chicago’s World’s Fair of 1933-34, sheetrock had not caught on. But the urgencies of wartime construction changed all that (Gellner, 2003). Colonial Hills and Dales was one of the first sites in the nation to utilize sheetrock rather than plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
construction.
Construction was well underway by January, 1942. The work site included a lunch room for the 400 workers. By October 1942, two homes were sufficiently completed to be opened to the public for inspection although landscaping had yet to be completed.
Racial restrictions
The deed restrictions for the subdivision dated December 24, 1938 contained this clause (restrictive covenantRestrictive covenant
A restrictive covenant is a type of real covenant, a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property...
):
No part of said addition or any building thereon shall be owned, leased to, or occupied by, any person other than one of the Caucasian race, but this prohibition is not intended to exclude or prevent occupancy by such other persons as domestic servants of any resident of said addition...
This restriction was placed in the deed before Colonial Hills became a government funded project, but no effort was ever made to remove it. Indeed, in the August 28, 1942 deed drawn up by the Defense Homes Corporation
Defense Homes Corporation
The Defense Homes Corporation was created October 23, 1940 to finance housing for war industry workers.- History :The Defense Homes Corporation was incorporated pursuant to a letter of President Roosevelt to the Secretary of the Treasury on October 18, 1940 to finance housing for war industries...
and Overland Realty the restriction remains. The restriction was nullified by the Federal Fair Housing Act
Fair housing
In the United States, the fair housing policies date largely from the 1960s. Originally, the terms fair housing and open housing came from a political movement of the time to outlaw discrimination in the rental or purchase of homes and a broad range of other housing-related transactions, such as...
of April 11, 1968.
The first homes are occupied
The assembly line style of construction and modern techniques such as the use of sheetrock meant houses were finished quickly. By the spring of 1943, 58 of the 200 units were occupied. Colonial Hills was built in an assembly line fashion that predated LevittownLevittown, New York
Levittown is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is midway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881....
by five years.
The homes remained rental units throughout the war. Many of the tenants held white collar jobs at the Curtis Wright Aviation Plant located at the airport
Port Columbus International Airport
Port Columbus International Airport , commonly shortened to Port Columbus, is a Class C international airport located east of downtown Columbus, Ohio, USA. It is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also oversees operations at Rickenbacker International Airport and Bolton Field...
.
After World War II
At the end of the war, all the homes on Selby and Kenbrook were sold for $6000 to $8000 to current residents and returning veterans, and later, to others. Many were bought by investors and remained rentals well into the 1950s.An additional 645 lots were added to Colonial Hills and construction ran through the early 1950s. Many of these new homes featured two story design, basements and aluminum framed windows. This brought the size of Colonial Hills to over 800 families with an eventual population of 3,100.
Civic Association and annexation to Worthington
Some time thereafter, the name of the development was shortened, once again, to Colonial Hills. In 1946 the Colonial Hills Civic Association was established. It was incorporated in 1952, the same year some residents of Colonial Hills began seeking annexation to the village of Worthington.Sharon Township, Franklin County, Ohio
Sharon Township is one of the seventeen townships of Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 16,455 people in the township, 1,831 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
was being rapidly converted from farmland to higher value retail and housing development. Both Columbus and Worthington wanted to add this valuable new property to their cities. Deciding between remaining part of the township, annexing to Columbus or annexing to Worthington was difficult. Tax rates in Columbus were $20 per $1000 of valued property, while the township was charging $26.20 and in Worthington, $29.20. The typical taxpayer in Colonial Hills paid $200 in annual property tax.
Concerned about the cost of providing services to Colonial Hills, many of Worthington's 2000 residents fought the annexation for two years until November 2, 1954 when Colonial Hills was annexed to Worthington. This increased the population of Worthington to more than 5000, and changed its status from Village to City. Colonial Hills Elementary School was promptly constructed and opened in 1955.
In 1950s, Colonial Hills hosted a July Fourth celebration that was a major event for the north side of Columbus. A parade with hundreds of children in costume, floats and horse drawn wagons made its way along Andover to Selby Park, where tents were set up. Fireworks followed.
Appearance of highways
Prior to the completion of Interstate 70Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
and Interstate 71
Interstate 71
Interstate 71 is an Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 and Interstate 65 in Louisville, Kentucky. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 90 in Cleveland,...
across Ohio, the City of Columbus began construction expressways that would link to the new Interstate System. The portion of Interstate 71 that bounds Worthington's eastern edge was called The North Freeway, cost 13.8 million dollars, and was constructed south from State Route 161, arriving at 11th avenue by August, 1961. It took a year to get from 11th Avenue to 5th Avenue, mostly due to the need to construct a massive underpass under the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's Grogan Yard. Ironically, today only two tracks cross the viaduct, the rest of the structure supports a large, weedy field. By August 1962, the freeway had reached Fifth Avenue, and reached downtown in November 1962. It wasn't until 1966 that I-71 was complete between Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
and Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
.
I-270
Interstate 270 (Ohio)
Interstate 270 is the beltway loop freeway in the Columbus metropolitan area, commonly known locally as "The Outerbelt," or the "Jack Nicklaus Freeway." The "western" terminus of I-270, at least in terms of the zero-milepost, is at the junction with I-71 east of Grove City, Ohio...
(the Outerbelt) was proposed in the early 1960s with the north section to be routed through the deaf school just north of Graceland Shopping Center. This proposal was fought by residents of Clintonville and Beechwold through 1961. In October, 1961, after an extensive letter writing campaign by local residents, Ohio Governor Michael DiSalle
Michael DiSalle
Michael Vincent DiSalle was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the Mayor of Toledo, Ohio and the 60th Governor of Ohio.-Early life and career:...
announced that the freeway would be built north of Worthington. In August, 1967, the first section of Outerbelt between North High Street and I-71 opened. The outerbelt was finally completed in August, 1975 at a total cost of 150 million dollars.
State Route 315 was the most contentious of the area's freeways, and its construction was not completed until 1981. Its construction involved relocating the Olentangy River between the Outerbelt and 161.
Conclusion
Today, few of the original homes remain unmodified, as their value has justified extensive remodeling. The combined property value of six Colonial Hills homes would exceed the $1,250,000 spent to construct the original 200, a testament to the decision making process of the Defense Homes CorporationDefense Homes Corporation
The Defense Homes Corporation was created October 23, 1940 to finance housing for war industry workers.- History :The Defense Homes Corporation was incorporated pursuant to a letter of President Roosevelt to the Secretary of the Treasury on October 18, 1940 to finance housing for war industries...
over sixty years ago.
See also
- Colonial Hills Civic Association
- Colonial Hills historic photos, old newspaper articles and more detailed history.
- Worthington, OhioWorthington, Ohio-Dissolution of the Company:By August 11, 1804 the plat maps were completed, payments or notes promising payments collected and deeds prepared for all sixteen thousand acres of the Scioto Company's purchase...
- Chaseland