Grove City--The Town with a Future - Part 3

(The following was written by Lewis Garrison, and is reprinted from 1927’s “Grove City - The Town with a Future”,  available at the Grove City Welcome Center and Museum. Any opinions made in the article are from the author.)The population of the village of Grove City is now about 1200. It has wonderful school facilities which compare favorably with much larger places. The high school is modern and is an accredited institution. A feature of education is the establishment of a training department under the supervision of the Agricultural Educational Department of the O.S.U. This course involves the study of animal husbandry and farm management. The grade school is a first-class building, accommodating about 300 scholars. It is a centralized school for the district.There are three churches, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal, each with its own edifice. The nucleus of a public library was started 3 years ago through the efforts of the ladies of the Civic Club. The American Legion, I.O.O.F. And Masonic bodies have their own halls. The latter was recently instituted with 29 charter members and now has a membership of 35.The location of Grove City and its altitude of approximately 100 feet above Columbus is worthy of note. Not alone is excellent drainage afforded, but physically and geographically the town is immune from objectionable features emanating from proximity to a large city.There is a local Chamber of Commerce which is alive due to the interests of the town. This organization is managed to put into effect improvement at a minimum cost so that the town is not over-burdened with taxation. Among the notable improvements within the past two years is the water works system giving an abundance of the purest water, for household use and for fire protection, from wells 180 feet deep.About 40 residences have been erected. Other improvements are a new bank building, a modern concrete tower elevator, various stables and buildings for the racetrack, totalling about $270,000 for the town, a good showing for a small community.Current for light, power and for operation of the water pumping plant is furnished at a reasonable rate by the Columbus Railway, Power & Light Company. The streets are fairly well improved and the main street of the town will soon be paved. The State Highway Department and the County Commissioners have agreed to pay about half of this cost and the property owners are now being petition for the balance of the cost. The promise is made that the improvement is assured.(The conclusion of this story in the next blog entry).