Hear how history was changed in your own backyard at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting right here in West Chester, Ohio.
VOA Museum, formerly the Voice of America Bethany Relay Station, was instrumental in the global fight against fascism starting with World War II. Since it was commissioned in the early 1940s, the stately 35,000 square foot facility anchored in southeast Butler County, led the charge for freedom around the globe thanks to the determination and forethought of the patriots who made it all happen.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt set plans in motion for the Voice of America Bethany Relay Station in the winter of 1942, weeks after the December 7th attacks on Pearl Harbor. The Commander in Chief looked to Cincinnati’s Powel Crosely Jr. to build the first high-power, shortwave radio transmitters aimed at Western Europe.
To this end, the United States government acquired one square mile, about 625 acres, of farmland from five landowners in Union Township, near our border with Liberty Township and the City of Mason. Here, the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation and its talented team of engineers went to work on behalf of the American people for the future of our nation and for the greater good of humanity.
Bethany Station broke ground in summer 1943 and directed its first broadcast into Nazi-occupied Germany in 1944. The location was said to be chosen for its high, flat terrain – suitable for long distance radio transmission. It’s also said that Union Township was considered safe from coastal attacks and ideal because of its central location between the Cincinnati and Dayton power grids.
From that fateful day forward 50 years, Bethany Relay Station delivered news to the people of South America, Africa, Europe and parts of Asia until it was decommissioned in 1994. Thanks to the Federal Lands to Parks Program, the building was conveyed to West Chester Township in 1995 and portions of the land divided for various uses. The landmark building received an Ohio Historical Marker from the Ohio Bicentennial Commission in 2003 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Its massive radio transmitters are gone and the airwaves quieted, but the original 1940s art deco-style building at 8070 Tylersville Road has been preserved in phases over a period of years, with ongoing restoration efforts underway from about 2012 through present day.
Today, the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting is open to visitors every weekend. The VOA Museum Board of Directors and a dedicated team of community-minded volunteers, backed by an enthusiastic base of supporters, make the awe-inspiring exhibits and amazing programs possible.
Fun Facts
VOA Museum is situated on land first sold by John Cleves Symmes in 1796 and mostly used for farming until its purchase by the government nearly 150 years later. The Union Township farmers who sold their properties in the 1940s were Hazel Beekley, Philip Condon, Lola Gray Coy, John Miller, and Suzie Steinman.
“Tell the truth and let the world decide” has been the driving mantra and stated mission of the VOA Bethany Relay Station from its founding. In 1944, Adolf Hitler listened to Voice of America radio broadcasts and referred to its operators as “Cincinnati Liars.”
At the dedication of the VOA Bethany Relay Station on September 23, 1944, FCC Commissioner Clifford J. Durr delivered these words in his opening remarks: “In Bethany, Ohio, on last year’s cornfield, there stands tonight a forest of wires and towering poles. These towers, although far from the scene of military conflict, are powerful and effective weapons of war. At a moment’s notice, they can be beamed on 24 different lands in five of the world’s six warring continents. They are the siege guns of radio, the heavy artillery, guns of war that can hurl explosive facts against the enemy’s weapons of lies and confusion anywhere in the world. They are also potential guns of peace that can be turned against misinformation and ideas that lead the war. The story which is being told tonight is a story well known to countless listeners in foreign countries, to oppressed peoples of the world, to many for whom listening is a matter of life and death.”
It’s said that VOA Bethany Relay Station’s sprawling network of towers and wires could be seen for miles, even as far away as the highway, and beyond, when Interstate 75 opened in 1960. The station initially consisted of six, 200,000-watt transmitters – the first and most powerful shortwave transmitters of their kind – with 24 high efficiency antennas.
The stainless steel decorative fencing across I-75 at the Tylersville Road interchange, added in 2020, features artwork of the VOA Museum and soccer balls, an homage to the former broadcast relay station and the park.
The museum adjoins property now part of the 435-acre Voice of America MetroPark, a public park maintained by MetroParks of Butler County.
In 2023, VOA Museum celebrated the opening of the Elliott Block Pavilion, a multi-purpose conference space similar to its own Clyde Haehnle Hall, which was dedicated in 2016.
VOA Museum hosts Taps, Tastes & Tunes and the West Chester Fourth of July Fireworks show in celebration of the Independence Day holiday. This year’s event is June 30 - July 2, 2023.
“Foundations” is a series of stories recounting momentous occasions in West Chester, Ohio history. Subscribe to the COMMUNITY REPORT e-newsletter and visit www.WestChesterOH.org/200 to learn more about Township history as we celebrate our 200th birthday bicentennial anniversary.