HUGH WATSON POST 530 GREENHILLS, OHIO
POST HISTORY
In 1938, a visionary and dedicated group of 35 World War I veterans from Greenhills and the surrounding area joined to form the post. It was chartered as the Greenhills American Legion Post 530 on April 19, 1939. The Legionnaires initially hosted their meeting in a small room at the Greenhills Shopping Center. In 1943, the post rented the old Marquard House (then an empty shell) for one dollar a year from the federal government. The Legionnaires then set about remodeling the house, and in 1950, purchased the house and property for $12,000.
In 1958, this property was then sold to the Village of Greenhills. The proceeds of the sale provided for the initial financing for purchase of the adjoining property as well as the construction of the building and hall at a cost of $75,000. Mrs. Hugh Watson provided considerable financial assistance and support for the post’s new venture. In appreciation, the post was renamed the Hugh Watson Post 530 American Legion in honor of Hugh Watson, a WWI flier who died in 1955. The new American Legion hall was dedicated in 1959. In 1976, in recognition of our country’s 200-year anniversary, the "Liberty Bell Replica" was added to the property. The main entrance to the building was relocated to the rear in 1979 and the north side of the building was expanded in 1983.
Over the years the Legion has contributed to Greenhills, Forest Park and surrounding communities by actively participating in various activities. In the 1960’s the building was temporarily used to provide additional school room space for the crowded school district. Today, the facility is made available to the Greenhills Fire Department for its turkey raffle activities. It is also available for community flu shot programs, Boy and Girl Scout activities, the honoring of our local school students for achievements such as Boy and Girl State scholars, and it afford the post band the opportunity to conduct band concerts for the community.
Since 1988, the American Legion Post 530 has donated approximately $15,000 to the Greenhills Police and Fire Departments for radios and computer components and in recent years, donated two TAZER guns. The Post has honored and decorated graves of deceased veterans on Memorial Day since 1940. It has sponsored local Boy and Girl Scouts, athletic teams, high school scholastic awards, scholarships, banquets, oratorical, contests, Halloween patrols, Kidde parades, and buckeye Boys and Girls state programs for student from area high schools. The July 4 Greenhills fireworks were sponsored and supported by the post until 1976 when the crowds outgrew the community’s ability to provide for order and safety. In 2000, the Post donated to Greenhills an access road from the rear of its parking lot to the Ireland road and other streets on the eastern side of the village without having to exit onto Winton Road.