Stanley Allen Meyer of Grove City received international acclaim for his invention of a water fuel cell that would operate a motor vehicle without the use of gasoline. The basic principle in Meyer’s fuel cell was that it allowed electricity to pass through water producing hydrogen and oxygen. He converted a dune buggy into a vehicle that he claimed used water instead of gasoline as the fuel. Meyer said 22 gallons of water would power the vehicle from Ohio to California. Meyer’s claims were never accepted by the mainstream scientific community and efforts to test his theory never occurred. Meyer had investors in his theory who filed suit in 1997 and Meyer was ordered to repay the $25,000 they had invested. Many still believe today he was murdered because of his water fuel cell invention. He died suddenly in 1998 after dining at a local restaurant with two foreigners. A Grove City police investigation found nothing suspicious and accepted the natural cause of death ruling by the Franklin County Coroner.

Richard G. Clark, a former Grove City attorney was a story teller and one of his best was about a “trespassing privy” that straddled a property line west of the railroad tracks in the Beulah Addition. Described as ramshackle, unpainted and almost falling down, the outdoor toilet was not only unsanitary, it caused offensive odors throughout the neighborhood. Town officials and two attorneys met at the property and were told by the neighbor lodging the complaint that a survey of the two lots showed the outhouse was sitting squarely on the property line and the next-door neighbor wanted immediate corrective action. While discussing the matter, one attorney stepped backwards sinking both shoes into the overflow from the outhouse causing considerable laughter. The mayor promptly said they would reassemble at the municipal building giving the out-of-town attorney time to compose himself.

Most of us today when we want an ice cube, we venture to the refrigerator but there was a time in Grove City when that wasn’t possible. Ice was delivered door-to-door in large blocks on a horse drawn wagon then placed in an icebox; there were no ice cubes. In the early years, Grove City had numerous ponds that froze over during the winter months where ice could be harvested. One of the popular spots was a clay bed pond at the old tile factory once located behind the Lutheran church on Columbus Street. There was another pond near the former Grove City Farmers Exchange building on Broadway where ice blocks could also be harvested. The scene pictured is a pond behind the church, the same place where two 12-foot tusks and the skull of a Mastodon was discovered around 1899.

Another early pioneer in Jackson Township was James Seeds. He owned 1,000 acres in the area we now identify as Seeds Road south of Grove City. He was an important man in the community because he provided the early residents with a critical mineral. For years, he brought salt to the area using pack horses along a primitive, blazed trail from Zanesville, now known at U.S. Rt. 40, the National Road. Salt was a vital commodity in the early settlements because it impacted daily life; salt was essential for food preservation and was used to cure meats and preserve vegetables. In the early 1800s, the salt trade flourished, particularly in the Ohio Valley region where it could command high prices, ranging from $4 to $6 per bushel.

William G. Sibray, one of the pioneers of Grove City was a native of Baltimore, Maryland. He was living in Pickerington with his father, a tavern owner, when in 1846, Sibray agreed to move to Jackson Township with William Breck. Sibray was a brick mason and plasterer, an important trade for Breck’s new town and Sibray erected many of the early homes of the new village. He learned his trade in the nation’s capital after he drove a herd of cattle from Illinois to Washington, D.C. In 1851, he married Mary, second daughter of Hugh Grant, Jr., a local farmer. Sibray served Grove City over the years in practically every government office and earned the reputation of an honest and industrious citizen.