throughout the antebellum era, several homes in westerville were stations on the underground railroad. among these is the hanby house, located one block from the college. benjamin russell hanby had moved to westerville in 1849, at the age of sixteen, to enroll at otterbein university. hanby went on to write many familiar hymns and songs, among them "darling nelly gray" (inspired by his sympathy for southern slaves), "who is he in yonder stall?", and the christmas favorite "up on the housetop". his home in westerville, listed on the national register of historic places, was dedicated as a museum in 1937 and is now owned by the ohio historical society and managed locally by the westerville historical society. it is the only state memorial to a composer in the state of ohio.