This story was published Dec. 19, 1941. It was rereleased as part of the 100th anniversary edition of the Torch.
Robert H. Jeffrey, chairman of the board of trustees of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company and a former mayor of the City of Columbus, recently gave his palatial home and estate at Clifton and Parkview Avenues to the citizens of Bexley to be used by the town as a park.
The plot, said to be valued conservatively at $250,000 and containing almost 35 acres of trees, shrubs, and lawn, was formally presented at a meeting of the Bexley Council, which passed the ordinance accepting the property with the condition that it be considered free from any real estate taxes to be levied.
The gift limits the use of any of the buildings on the land to educational, recreational, and social purposes.
The estate that has been owned by Mr. Jeffrey even before Bexley was incorporated as a city is located just west of Commonwealth Park on Parkview, north of Clifton, and east of Alum Creek.
The owner reserved the right to use the house and grounds as his home for the remainder of his life.
Mayor William Schneider of Bexley said that no plans for any activities had as yet been arranged for the park, and that the community could not look forward to any municipal governing of the property until Mr. Jeffrey surrendered his life estate.
Published December 1941. Digitized 2026.