The

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

's Bethany Relay Station was located in

Butler County, Ohio Butler County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 390,357. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 during St. Clair' ...

's Union Township about 25 miles (40 km) north of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, adjacent to the transmitter site of

WLW WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One. WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provides ...

. Starting in 1944 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it transmitted American radio programming abroad on shortwave frequencies, using 200,000-watt transmitters built by

Crosley Crosley was a small, independent American manufacturer of subcompact cars, bordering on microcars. At first called the Crosley Corporation and later Crosley Motors Incorporated, the Cincinnati, Ohio, firm was active from 1939 to 1952, inter ...

engineers under the direction of R.J. Rockwell. The site was developed to provide 'fallback' transmission facilities inland and away from the East Coast, where transmitters were located in Massachusetts, on Long Island in New York, and in New Jersey, all close to the ocean, subject to attack from German submarines or other invading forces. Programming originated from studios in New York until 1954, when VOA headquarters moved to Washington. The station operated until 1994. The facility took its name from the Liberty Township community of

Bethany Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...

, which was about two miles north of the facility.

History

In 1943, the United States government bought nearly all of

Section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

12 of Township 3, Range 2 of the Symmes Purchase, the northeasternmost section of Union Township. From Hazel Beckley, 170 acres (688,000 m²) were purchased; from Philip Condon, 143 acres (579,000 m²); from Lola Gray Coy, 100 acres (405,000 m²); from John Miller, 69 acres (279,000 m²); and from Suzie Steinman, 142 acres (575,000 m²). The site was chosen for its elevation and its shallow bedrock and is today bounded by Tylersville Road on the south, Cox Road to the west, Liberty Way to the north, and Butler-

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

Road. The transmitters were built by Powel Crosley Jr.'s

Crosley Broadcasting Corporation The Crosley Broadcasting Corporation was a radio and television broadcaster founded by radio manufacturing pioneer Powel Crosley, Jr. It had a major influence in the early years of radio and television broadcasting, and helped the Voice of Amer ...

about one mile west of the company's tower for WLW-AM in Mason. The

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

began broadcasting in July 1944 and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

is said to have denounced the "Cincinnati liars". Following the war, with the OWI abolished, the facility was taken over by the State Department in 1945. It became part of the newly created

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bil ...

in 1953. The Crosley Broadcasting Corporation operated the facility for the government until November 1963, when the Voice of America assumed direct control. At its peak the facility had six transmitters broadcasting with 250 kW and two transmitting with 50 kW. The facility was closed on November 14, 1994; because of changing technologies, the transmissions shifted to

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

s. The towers were brought down from December 1997 to February 1998.

Post-closure use

Most of the land was turned over to the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

and

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

for use as a park. Part in the southwest corner was sold to developers who have erected a shopping center called the Voice of America Centre. The

Miami University Voice of America Learning Center The Miami University Voice of America Learning Center (Miami VOALC) is a satellite campus of Miami University in West Chester, Ohio. It is one of three regional campuses of Miami University. It is located on a portion of the former Voice of Amer ...

opened on the site in January 2009.

National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting

The 30,000 sq. ft. former Bethany Station building at 8070 Tylersville Road has been transformed into the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, a historical center about the history of The Voice of America, Powel Crosley, Jr. and radio and television. Using a blueprint developed by Jack Rouse Associates, the facility features displays and interactive experiences that relate the story of the Voice of America and incorporate other related collections from Media Heritage and the Gray History of Wireless Museum in

. Displays include the radio station control room, re-creations of radio and television studios from the 1920s through the present, Old-time radio memorabilia and from the early days of television, and displays about area pioneers in the development of radio technology. An amateur radio club, West Chester Amateur Radio Association, operates a ham station using the callsign WC8VOA.

References

External links

National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting

Media Heritage: The Voice of America Museum of BroadcastingAmateurLogic Special Presentation on the VOA MuseumBob Heil from Ham Nation takes a tour of the VOA Museum
{{NRHP in Butler County, Ohio Telecommunications museums in the United States Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Buildings and structures in Butler County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Butler County, Ohio International broadcasting * Art Deco architecture in Ohio 1944 establishments in Ohio 1994 disestablishments in Ohio Voice of America Telecommunications buildings on the National Register of Historic Places Shortwave radio stations in the United States

History

Post-closure use

National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting

See also

References

Further reading

External links