Looking for a unique present for your favorite Westerville resident this year?

Consider giving the gift of local history, with the coffee table book, “Westerville: The War Machine of Prohibition.”

Available for purchase in historic Uptown Westerville at the Pure Roots Boutique, 18 N. State St., and at Amish Originals Furniture Co., 38 N. State St., War Machine tells the story of Westerville’s rich Temperance history, and its role in winning passage of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

War Machine was commissioned in 2019 by Uptown Westerville Inc., to mark the 100th anniversary of Prohibition’s enactment. Written and curated by local journalist Joe Meyer, the book tells tales of Westerville’s dry founding in 1858, its famous Whiskey Wars from 1875-79, and Uptown’s transition to a vibrant shopping, entertainment and dining district since alcohol sales began in the former “Dry Capital of the World” in 2006.

It also tells the stories of, and provides a guide to, Westerville’s many Temperance-related historic sites, including:

• The Westerville History Center & Museum;
• “The American Issue” sculpture in front of Westerville City Hall;
• The Temperance Row Historic District; and
• The Uptown Westerville Historic District itself, where Uptown Inc.’s plaque program now marks 37 significant historic buildings in the district. With UWI’s backing, the entire District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

The book includes dozens of rare historic photos from the archives of the Anti-Saloon League and Westerville History Center & Museum, reproduces and updates the Westerville Historical Society’s Temperance Row brochure, and includes a great story on William “Pussyfoot” Johnson, written by former Historical Society President Bill Merriman. Johnson was an illustrious liquor fighter and favorite son of Westerville in 1920s, when the little town of about 2,000 residents led the publicity campaign to convince the entire nation to vote itself “dry.”

The colorful local history book was produced by UWI with the help of a grant from the Westerville Fund. All proceeds from sales go to Uptown Westerville Inc.

Find your gift copy of “Westerville: The War Machine of Prohibition” today, at Pure Roots or Amish Originals in Uptown.

BELOW: Plaque Program Phase 1 pages from Westerville: The War Machine of Prohibition