West Licking Historical Society

04/19/2026

It's Opening Day!

Come visit us at the Mead-Needham Museum today 1pm to 3pm...
300 South Main Street Pataskala

If you are participating in the Licking County Passport Challenge -- today is a beautiful day to come visit and answer the challenge questions around Pataskala.

It's Opening Day at the Mead-Needham Museum!

This is the Historic home tells the story of the original family that lived there for several generations and the story of the Pataskala area

If you are participating in the Licking County Passport Challenge -- today is the perfect day to visit.

The address is: 300 South Main Street Pataskala.

04/12/2026

WLHS Friends: We are in need of your help!
Many of you may remember our float -- it has a calliope & seats on it. (See post photo)
The location where we are currently storing it -- the owner has been generously doing this for free... but is needing us to move it somewhere else.
This poses a bit of a quandary -- We do not have an appropriate indoor space to store our float (Think garage-like space).

While I have long wished that we had a large enough location where we could not only store large items like our float but also have an appropriate space to accession, process and preserve our collection. All this and allow for accessibility to our community.

Wish aside -- What is needed, at this moment, is a new indoor space for our calliope/float. Preferably at the same rate... free.
I realize that this is a big ask, for a big item...

Being completely transparent, we are trying to be fiscally wise -- our finances are thin and it has been a hard road since the pandemic. Any cushion that we may have had prior to that dwindled to very critically low levels and we have not truly recovered.
I am going to be brutally honest here: Our membership has been declining. Event & fundraiser attendance, while it has been slowly increasing... has been discouraging to me.

I am an optimistic person by nature, but am realizing that we need you, our friends, to help us... more now than ever. First with this and then on into the future, helping us to fulfill our mission to "preserve our community's history for generations to come"

If you are able to help out with this please contact me at: [email protected]

As always -- Thank you for your help & support:
Cristy Meade -- WLHS President

03/26/2026

Throwback Thursday:

In honor of Opening Day for Major League Baseball and the beginning of baseball season for our area's two high schools: Watkins Memorial High School & Licking Heights High School

These are from the WLHS photo archives from high school baseball seasons of the past...

All photos but one (I believe) pre-dates the formation of the two school districts in the WLHS area in mid-1950's -- Southwest Licking Local Schools and Licking Heights Local Schools
Each of the schools represented in these photos have since become part of these two school districts.

We encourage you to click on each of the photos to read the descriptions for the years & schools...

02/26/2026

Spring is very close... as it gets closer and it begins to become nice outdoors...
Remember the Licking County Historical Alliance Passports...

I know that I am ready to be anywhere but cooped up indoors -- ready for some exploring!

If you are curious about the Passport, contact us at [email protected]
We have Passports for you so you can begin your adventures!

We're hoping spring is just around the corner and if you need something to do with the sunny days ahead look no further than the Licking County Passport Challenge! Need convincing? Check out this month's site highlight, Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries and Nature Preserve!

Flint Ridge is one of the oldest known flint quarrying sites in North America. Over 12,000 years ago American Indians began utilizing the ridge's high quality and beautiful flint to make tools such as spear points, knifes, scrapers, and awls. Flint is an excellent resource because it is both durable and easy to shape. The unique flint found on this ridge went on to be one of the most valuable trading tools for people of the Hopewell culture and it can today be found all over the Eastern United State. The quarries were in use until Euro-American settlers began to displace the area's native cultures. In the late 1700s, settlers began to collect some flint for fire starters, gun flints, and bur stones, with quarry activity ending around 1840. Though no longer in use, flint quarry pits are still visible all over Flint Ridge and they make excellent vernal pools in early spring (check out the sites Vernal pool event on April 4th if your a salamander fan!)

Learn more about Flint Ridge at it's Clio page here: https://theclio.com/entry/184502

Or its website here: https://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/browse-historical-sites/flint-ridge-ancient-quarries-nature-preserve/

Interested in participating in the Licking County Passport Challenge? It's not too late! Books are still available and can be purchased at the Licking County Historical Society for just $10!