Franklin Township Historical Society

Spring 2026 Newsletter

Our 50th Anniversary!

This year we're celebrating the half-century of existence of our Historical Society, through which we've been able to document 200 years of Franklin Township history. Mark your calendars now for Saturday, July 11 when we'll celebrate this milestone on the grounds of our 1871 Meeting House from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Barbeque! Vintage cars! Special events! And a big announcement! Join us.

FTHS Sales -- plural!

Our Antiques & Rummage sale is our biggest fundraiser of each year and helps us maintain our 155-year-old Meeting House. This spring, for the first time, we'll be having TWO different sales, in different locations and on different dates.

• On Saturday, June 6 we will hold a garage sale of furniture and other items in the garage immediately south of the Meeting House. Sale opens at 8 a.m. Park in one of the two gravel lots at our Meeting House, 6510 S. Franklin Rd.
• Our popular Antiques & Rummage Sale will be held as usual at the Franklin Township Civic League building at 8822 Southeastern Ave. on Friday, June 12 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, June 13 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Our Sincere Appreciation

The Historical Society wishes to thank Tabor Lawn & Maintenance and Ray Property Services, who teamed up to tackle a HUGE cleanup job for our Society. They hauled off one 15-yard dumpster and six dump trailer loads of downed trees and dirt. The Society hugely appreciates their services, and encourages others to support these businesses which so willingly aided our nonprofit organization.

Original Wanamaker State Bank Vault

The Wanamaker State Bank was founded by George A. Bowen on August 2, 1919, when New Bethel had "no paved roads, no sidewalks, nothing much except an electric interurban line running through the center of town." The bank's first location was in the building that later became Allied Appliances and is now FIZZ'N, at 8901 Southeastern Ave. The bank had a fireproof vault and also a "Cannon Ball Burglar Alarm System" which went off too frequently and later had to be disabled! The original vault can be visited today: If you go to FIZZ'N for a beverage you can walk into the historic vault, which is now open to the public.

1930 Annex Improvements

The Historical Society hired Hitman Solutions to stabilize the basement and foundation of our 1930 Annex (immediately next door south of the Meeting House). The Society purchased this building some months ago to enable an expansion of our display space and services, but the 96-year-old property needs some work. We're happy to have this part of it successful accomplished!

Open Hours Continue

Our 1871 Meeting House will be available for visits on the first Saturday and third Sunday of each month through October. Custom visit dates can also be arranged for those who request them. Stop in and see what we have on display, chat with our volunteers, learn about upcoming events, and take advantage of your membership!

Membership Renewals

We received notifications that some of you had set your memberships for auto-renewal (which is good!) but in some cases memberships weren't able to auto-renew because the credit card had expired or changed. However you joined, please take a moment to renew; we want you to stay! Visit fths.org for renewal or membership level options.

Be sure to look for our booth at the Old Settlers Day Street Fair in Wanamaker on Sunday, June 28, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.!