Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 14,125 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by James Kilbourne, future member of the United States House of Representatives. The city was named in honor of Thomas Worthington, future governor of Ohio. Worthington is a northern suburb of Columbus,

Connecticut Settlers Form the Scioto Land Company (1802) - On May 5, 1802 a group of prospective settlers founded the Scioto Company at the home of Rev. Eber B. Clark in Granby, Connecticut for the purpose of forming a settlement between the Muskingum River and Great Miami River in the Ohio Country. James Kilbourne was elected president and Josiah Topping secretary. On August 30, 1802 James Kilbourne and Nathaniel Little arrived at Colonel Thomas Worthington’s home

in Chillicothe, Ohio. They tentatively reserved land along the Scioto River on the Pickaway Plains for their new settlement.

On October 5, 1802 The Scioto Company met in Granby, Connecticut and decided not to purchase the lands along the Scioto River on the Pickaway Plains, but rather to buy land 30 miles farther north from Dr. John Stanbery and his partner, an American Revolutionary War general, Jonathan Dayton. Sixteen thousand acres (65 km²) were purchased along the Whetstone River (now known as the Olentangy River) at $1.50 per acre (McCormick 1998:19-27). This land was part of the United States Military Lands surveyed by Israel Ludlow in 1797 and divided into townships 2.5 miles square.

James Kilbourne arrives, and Worthington is named (1803) - On May 7, 1803 James Kilbourne arrived at what is now Worthington to inspect the Scioto Company’s purchase. A work party of seven hired laborers, paid $12 per month each, soon began work clearing the forest.

On August 10, 1803 the Scioto Company voted to name the village for Thomas Worthington, one of Ohio's first two senators, and for each member to contribute $2 (about four days wages) to support a library.

In September 1803 the first settlers departed Connecticut by horse. Ezra Griswold was the lone settler who traveled by oxcart. With this he is officially the first settler of Worthington, beating his fellow Company men to the site. By December 1803, Worthington was divided into 160, three quarter acre city lots with a five acre public green in the center of the village. Thirty seven persons bid between $53 and $0.25 to select a lot. Those who bid nothing were given a choice of the remaining lots. Farm lots, ranging from 20 to 130 acres and averaging 93 acres, were sold off in the same way. Both the Episcopal Church and Worthington Academy were given an 80 acre farm lot and 20 acre wood lot to provide financial support.

Land is Distributed, and the Scioto Company Disbands (1804-5) - 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 (McCormick 1998:71). On January 28, 1805, having completed its work of apportioning land and establishing the church, school and library, the Scioto Company was dissolved (McCormick 1998:76).

Academy and Commercial Buildings (1808-11) - On February 20, 1808 the Worthington Academy was incorporated by the Ohio legislature and a brick building was constructed facing the northeast quadrant of the public square. Its bell now adorns Kilbourne middle school. That same year James Kilbourne erected a commercial building for a newspaper. This building still stands at 679-681 High Street as the oldest commercial building in continuous use in the state.

In 1811, Ezra Griswold built a large south-facing brick tavern on the lot north of the northeast quadrant of the public square. That same year, the Orange Johnson house was constructed north of the Village Green.

War of 1812 - During the War of 1812, several Worthington militia marched north with General William Hull's army and were surrendered at Detroit on August 12, 1812. Orders issued by General William Henry Harrison from "Northwest Army Headquarters, Worthington, Ohio" on October 28, 1812 indicate the commander, like his supply wagons, was using the road north from the capital. On September 7, 1814, Zophar Topping died while serving with Indian scouts, Worthington's only casualty during the war.

The Young Village Grows (1813-26) - On May 24, 1813 James Kilbourne took a seat in the United States House of Representatives. On August 25, 1817 President James Monroe visits Worthington. Also in 1817, Philander Chase moved to Worthington to become the first rector of St. John's Episcopal Church. He concurrently served as rector of Episcopal churches in Columbus and Delaware and as principle of the Worthington Academy. In June of 1818, Rev. Chase was elected Bishop of the newly organized Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.

A Sleepy Village (1820-1861) - The period from the 1820's to the Civil War was a time of slow growth for the sleepy village. In 1820 Aurora Buttles erected a Masonic hall. In 1826 the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike was incorporated (now Ohio State Rt. 23) to connect the center of the state to Lake Erie, further cementing the importance of High Street.

Civil War - In September, 1861 Captain William Piney and 14 members of the "Olentangy Reserves" muster into Company E of Thomas Worthington Jr.'s 46th Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment, which trains at Camp Lyon on the old Worthington Manufacturing Co. site southwest of the village. This unit suffered forty percent casualties at the battle of Shiloh in April, 1862.

Slow Growth (1864-1900) - In 1866 the Bishop House was converted to the Union Hotel (Worthington Inn) by the Lewis family. In 1873 the Worthington School located at Evening Street and State Route 161 was completed. The first Worthington High School class graduated in 1880 (including 2 girls).

In 1931, the only Roman Catholic pontifical college outside of Italy, the Pontifical College Josephinum relocated to Worthington where it exists today.

-courtesy of wikipedia.org