Beechwold / The Cottages

Beechwold, also, The Cottages. . , Beechwold , In 1800 John Rathbone acquired 4,000 acres of the northwest quadrant of Clinton Township. His daughter Eliza and her husband, Dr. Charles Whetmore, established residence on 262 acres of that land. They called their home Locust Grove., In 1902 the family transferred all but 30 acres of their land to the Columbus Zoological Park. From 1902 to 1910 the Columbus Zoological Park owned all the land south of Rathbone Road (Morse) and north of Wetmore between what is now Interstate 71 and the Olentangy River. The land to the east of the Columbus Worthington Plank Road (now High Street) was laid out as housing lots. That neighborhood is now called Zooland., In 1910 the land to the west of High Street was purchased by Joseph and Celia Clark Jeffrey. Celia Jeffrey named the family's summer estate Beechwalde (Beech Forest). In 1915 real estate developer Charles F. Johnson simplified the name to Beechwold. In 1920 The Van De Boe-Hager Company expanded the use of the name by platting South Beechwold. As more families moved into the area, businesses replaced the remaining farms. In a fairly short time, the Beechwold community was bustling with businesses including a movie theater, hardware, library and post office., The Cottages , Mildred "Migg" Caulkins Urban was born in 1908, the daughter of Earl and Ethel Roe Caulkins. Earl Caulkins was a builder and general contractor. Migg graduated from The Ohio State University College of Education in 1932. She lived at home with her parents and taught school for several years. In 1936 she designed an English cottage home. Her father built that home at the corner of Dominion and High Streets. Featuring a slate roof, fieldstone walls and a large garden area, it was truly unique. In 1942 Migg had a second cottage built. That structure would be used by her husband, John Paul Urban, as his doctor's office. Migg was a Renaissance woman. She pursued education throughout her life. When Migg died in 2003, both structures were willed to the Knowlton School of Architecture at The Ohio State University. In 2009 the cottages were restored to their original purpose--a home and a doctor's office.,

"Children learning the love of reading from the example of caring parents and teachers is my wish for the new millennium." , -Migg Caulkins Urban