Westerville 250th Murals - Lillian and Fairchild Hall - Artist Yao Cheng
Amalthea and the Central College Area: Lillian and Fairchild Hall
This Westerville 250 mural stop turns attention to a part of the city whose history is often less visible than Uptown’s better-known landmarks. Lillian and Fairchild Hall, by artist Yao Cheng, connects the story of schoolteacher and local historian Lillian Gossett with the early community of Amalthea, the Central College area, and Fairchild Hall.
The mural is located at Skip Ivery Insurance, 855 S. Sunbury Road, on the south-facing wall perpendicular to Sunbury Road.
Cheng said she wanted the mural to celebrate Gossett and her contribution to preserving the story of Fairchild Hall. In the painting, she imagined “a bountiful bouquet of peonies and roses swirling around her” to reflect Gossett’s dedication to the building and its community. Bright, vibrant colors help express both the warmth of nature and the beauty of this part of Westerville’s history.
Gossett became one of the leading historians of Blendon Township in the 1950s. Her book, By One Spirit, published for the American Bicentennial in 1976, documented the history of the Central College area. In it, she described the community of Amalthea, located at Sunbury and Central College roads and platted in 1816 by Timothy Lee and Gideon Hart.
Central College opened there in 1842 on land originally owned by Lee. When Fairchild Hall was built in 1875, the campus served as a preparatory school. The building was named for I. Fairchild, the college’s only graduate.
Fairchild Hall took on a new role in 1896 when it was purchased by the Ohio Home for the Aged & Infirm Deaf. The site became an important community institution, drawing Deaf and Deaf-Blind residents because of its emphasis on self-sufficiency. The Home later closed as state funding and regulations changed, then reopened farther down the road in 1977 as Columbus Colony.
Today, what was once Amalthea is part of Westerville’s Central College area. As part of the Westerville 250 Mural Project, Lillian and Fairchild Hall helps bring that history back into view, honoring both the place and the woman who worked to preserve its story.
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The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.
