If you spend a day with the Southwest Franklin County Historical Society you may get a tour from a woman in a dress straight out of Gone With The Wind at the Grant-Sawyer Home. Visit Century Village in Grove City and you might catch a glimpse of a woman bustling through the streets dressed in Little House on the Prairie garb as she checks with volunteers and ensures the reenactment village runs smoothly. In the springtime, you may find this same woman – now dressed in modern clothing – guiding a group of kids through the streets of Grove City as she leads them on a walking tour.
Beverly “Bev” Babbert, a lifetime Grove City resident and retired teacher, now spends her time educating students and adults alike on the history of Grove City after joining the Southwest Franklin County Historical Society in 2009.
“I don’t know if it was good timing or divine intervention, it just seemed to be at a point where the society was branching out into different things,” Babbert says. “It gave me lots of opportunities to be a docent at those places and it’s like continuing to teach, but not having all the extraneous things that go with teaching.”
Babbert worked as an elementary school teacher at Monterey Elementary School in Grove City. After graduating from Grove City High School in 1975, receiving her bachelor of science degree in elementary education in 1978 and her master’s in educational administration in 1983, both from The Ohio State University, she returned to teach in the hometown she had lived in since she
was 6.
Babbert’s passion for sharing her town’s history comes from Grove City’s dedication to preserving the past.
“I’m so proud of the fact that we preserve things,” Babbert says. “It’s a priority for (Grove City) and for the historical society to promote and accentuate the past. Other places have different things that they promote but they don’t dwell on their history. But (the history) is ours to tell.”
Babbert joined the historical society right as the program was gaining traction. The society was developing three attractions: Century Village, a reenactment town from the late 1800s, complete with historical structures from around the area; the Grant-Sawyer Home, an original structure from the 1840s; and the Welcome Center and Museum, which displays Grove City’s shift from rural farmland to urban development.
As the education chair for the historical society, Babbert schedules and trains volunteers for the reenactment spaces. She is on-site for the tours that take place at Century Village and the Grant-Sawyer House and she leads tours of downtown Grove City.
“As a teacher, my passion is educating and my favorite subject is history, … so (touring) was a perfect blend of my love of history and my appreciation for Grove City and its family-like atmosphere,” Babbert says.
But the tours didn’t always exist in Grove City. The historical society realized it needed more space for education when the building reached maximum capacity after the schools began to send students on field trips there. So, society members developed a three-piece rotation: one class sees a presentation, one class tours the museum, one class tours the town.
“There is so much to point out downtown and I could do it for days, … so we decided we would walk the kids through and show them … using the murals as highlights,” Babbert says.
The tour starts at the museum and finishes downtown. Babbert begins by pointing out plaques she helped develop that explain the historical significance of each building. The tour then passes the four murals downtown that depict scenes from Grove City in the 1920s. Featured locations of the tour include the Plank’s Hotel and Tavern, which is the longest operating business in Grove City, the Kegg 1912 building, the Little Theatre Off Broadway, the Elias White house, the Farmers’ Exchange and the car dealerships.
“We talk about where the old car dealerships used to be and the first elevator in Grove City and how the Farmers’ Exchange was such a hub of activity,” Babbert says. “I point out coal shoots and gas lamps – things kids don’t think about.”
Babbert’s experience as an elementary school teacher has equipped her to engage tours full of children.
“I try to put some humor in it,” Babbert says. “I try to talk about things they don’t know and we tie it all together to a slide they’ve seen in the museum. A lot of times that brings kids back.”
In 2022, Babbert worked with another member of the historical society to open gift shops in each of the three locations–the Grant-Sawyer House, the museum and Century Village. Now that the historical society has developed these sites, they are working to expand their outreach in the community to share the history of the area.
In spring, the historical society hosts the Heritage Celebration and the Old-Time Harvest Day in October. Both events bring the community together to celebrate the past.
“To not make that available, to not make use of all these things we have in Grove City, would just be a travesty. There is way too much here not to share,” Babbert says. “It’s a shame if we don’t promote it, it’s got to be done.”
Katie Giffin is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
