Woodland Park in Columbus in Franklin County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Ohio Baptist General Association Headquarters

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 26, 2024

1. Ohio Baptist General Association Headquarters Marker

Inscription. The Ohio Baptist General Association (OBGA) acquired 48 Parkwood Avenue in 1954 and used the former residence as its headquarters until 1996. Formed in 1896, the Association includes more than forty African American churches, many formed prior to the Civil War. Baptist general associations nationwide became an important voice during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement as they addressed the wrongs of racial violence and discrimination in business, housing, and education. The OGBA fought for the ideals of justice and freedom with its strongly-held Baptist beliefs. “America with her wealth as a great nation,“ OGBA President Wilber A. Page declared in 1957, “is well able to face integration and give a democracy to all her citizens.” The former Association Headquarters was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 3, 2020.

Erected 2023 by Ohio Baptist General Convention & Auxiliaries • Otto Beatty Real Estate • Kelley Companies • Ohio History Connection. (Marker Number 139-25.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures.

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In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1954.

Location. 39° 58.087′ N, 82° 57.58′ W. Marker is in Columbus, Ohio, in Franklin County. It is in Woodland Park. It is at the intersection of Parkwood Avenue and Maplewood Alley, on the right when traveling north on Parkwood Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 48 Parkwood Ave, Columbus OH 43203, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Scioto Valley.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: White Oak (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Martin Luther King Jr. Library / Architect Leon Ransom Jr. (1921 - 1971) (about 600 feet away); War! – “It Is All Hell” (approx. 0.2 miles away); Allen Russell Mann (approx. 0.2 miles away); Asians in the American Civil War (approx. ¼ mile away); The Transformation of Franklin Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); Founding of the State of Israel (approx. 0.4 miles away); Mount Vernon Community School (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbus.

Regarding Ohio Baptist General Association Headquarters. Excerpt from the Columbus Register of Historic Properties

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 26, 2024

2. Ohio Baptist General Association Headquarters Marker

registration form:

The house at 48 Parkwood Avenue was built for Jeremiah Foley and his family c. 1904-1905. Foley was a contractor in partnership with his brother John Foley, and he also seems to have had a number of real estate investments. It is not known if Foley might have built the house; the construction partnership “had charge of some of the principal highways of Ohio,” so may have been in the cement or macadam business. In addition to the large main house, the property included a rear carriage house (no longer extant) that was designed as a companion building to the house. Jeremiah Foley passed away in 1915, his wife Mary Foley remained in the house until 1922 or 1923, when it was sold. … The house had four additional owners between 1923 and 1954, when the building was sold to the Ohio Baptist General Association.

Also see . . . Ohio Baptist General Association Headquarters (PDF download). Columbus Register of Historic Properties registration form for the site, which was listed in 2019. (City of Columbus) (Submitted on May 29, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 29, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 29, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 212 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 29, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.