Mayor’s Message
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Mayor Richard L. "Ike" Stage
Caring Hometown Holiday Celebrations
Heading to a big city for the holidays can be exciting – unlimited Christmas shows, shopping and fantastic light displays. Located only nine miles south of downtown Columbus, Grove City residents are close to big city festivities to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the season and then return to experience our hometown holiday celebrations coupled with fun, charitable events.
Holiday festivities kick off in traditional hometown fashion Saturday, Dec. 1, with a full day of fun. Take a Christmas tour of historic Century Village at Fryer Park to experience Christmas in the 1800s or head to Mistletoe Market and shop for that one-of-a-kind gift (not found in big city stores) while strolling through historic Town Center. Friends, neighbors and visitors enjoy the seasonal sights and sounds of the City Christmas tree, cheerful holiday decorations and live entertainment.
Our young residents and those who are young at heart visit with Santa as his jovial and generous personality brings smiles to all. Visitors witness an ice sculptor at work, get up close and personal with Santa’s reindeer and listen to choirs perform yuletide songs. As the sky darkens, everyone settles in to experience a joyful, lighted parade through Town Center with the fanfare of multiple high school marching bands and participating local business and civic organizations.
Before the family Christmas celebrations begin, the goodhearted people of our community come together to make the holidays brighter for those less fortunate. Multiple charitable efforts provide aid and gifts to families and individuals in need.
The Grove City Food Pantry extends support all year long by providing food to more than 800 local individuals every month. During the holidays, the pantry benefits significantly from funds raised through the annual Thanksgiving Wattle 5k Walk/Run Nov. 22 and the collection of non-perishable food items by multiple schools, businesses and individuals during the White Christmas Food Drive.
The annual Cram the Cruiser toy drive, hosted by the Grove City Division of Police and the City of Grove City, provides Franklin County Children Services with toys and gifts to distribute during the holidays. The Jackson Township Fire Department provides drop-off locations for Franklin County’s Firefighters 4 Kids toy drive. Multiple groups share goodwill through their own charitable events, including local churches and the Grove City Community Club, hosting an annual Holiday Tree Festival and Gala that generates contributions for benevolent services throughout the year.
We are a community of caring and supportive neighbors and though the generosity spans January through December, no time of the year reflects our giving spirit more than the holidays. This is when even the smallest of kind acts brings joy. As Charles Dickens once wrote, “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
Have a most joyful and fulfilling holiday season!
Discovering Our Past
Hoover Legacy Lives On
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, before Ohio was established as a state, the land that is now Grove City was part of the 4.2-million-acre Virginia Military District, reserved by Virginia to be used as payment in lieu of cash to its veterans for service during the American Revolutionary War.
Many of the area’s early pioneers were veterans who accepted the land as payment, or purchased the land from a veteran who opted not to relocate. This included Revolutionary War veteran, Pvt. John Hoover, who settled on, and farmed much of, 200 acres he purchased in 1807. This land now encompasses Gantz Road and neighboring residential areas.
John Hoover was born in 1755 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In 1776, near the onset of the Thirteen Colonies’ quest for independence from Great Britain, John volunteered for the Pennsylvania militia, which served as part of the Continental Line. He served two three-month active enlistments before heading home, where he married Margaret Smith in 1785.
John and Margaret relocated to Kentucky around 1790 and lived there until the legalization of slavery. Because this conflicted with their beliefs, they migrated north to a free area, picturesque and fruitful for hunting game, fishing the Scioto River and producing plentiful crops. The family was among the first settlers in the area and eventually grew by nine children, one served as an officer in the War of 1812.
Until his passing in 1840, John lived on and cultivated much of the 200-acre farm that is now a residential community known as Ziner Farm. The area is named for a distant cousin of John who owned the land prior to its purchase for development in the late 1980s.
During the development of the land, crews came upon the grave site of John, Margaret and an infant. The site was set apart and landscape preservation was completed to restore the area to a well-maintained retreat, in the midst of a bustling community.
Cared for by the John Hoover Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a serenely landscaped burial site rests at the base of a massive old cedar tree, surrounded by an iron fence and guarded twenty-four hours a day by a lighted flag of the nation he helped create. A fitting setting for the only known Revolutionary War patriot buried in Grove City.
John Hoover’s birthright is forever immortalized by the site and his legacy lives on in Grove City through descendants that live here today.
Council Briefs
The Development Process
Grove City is growing with many new residential developments. The process to plan and approve a development may take four or more months to complete before construction begins.
The first step involves the developer meeting with the City development department. They discuss the residential project including the location, type of housing, size of the project, number of units and more. After the project location is determined, the city administration, engineers and other city professionals meet to discuss. A preliminary development plan is presented.
Once a preliminary development plan is submitted in accordance with City code, both the Planning Commision and City Council hold public hearings on the project to see if it is a good fit for our city. If approved by Council, it moves to the next phase. Council may need to act on legislation concerning the project; which may include annexation of the land into Grove City, provisions for city services such as water, sewer, safety and zoning before the final design is presented. The final development plan includes proposed roads, building designs, stormwater drainage, sanitary sewers, and landscaping and green space. It is then presented to the Planning Commission, which makes its recommendation to Council.
Council conducts a public hearing to consider input regarding the final development plan from Planning Commission, development department, project developers and the public. Questions from council members about aspects of the plan are addressed. Changes may be made based on public input and suggestions from council members. Finally, if Council approves the project, the developer may move forward to the construction phase. It is easy to follow the development process on the City website.
