Once known as the "Dry Capital of the World," with all sales of alcohol prohibited within the village limits, Westerville's formal incorporation came in 1858 with a population under 700 residents. Though modernization has affected the city, now with a population over 37,000, Westerville still maintains its small-town atmosphere and historic appearance.

Religious, political, social, and health reform earmarked the Progressive Era. The era's health reform movement—like today's clean living movement—saw campaigns against alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and sexuality. It included crusades for exercise, vegetarian diets, and alternative health care and concerns about eugenics and new diseases. Covering the years leading up to the Progressive Era through the 1920s, this book provides entries on the central figures, events, crusades, legislation, publications and terms of the health reform movements, while a detailed timeline ties health reform to political, social, and religious movements. A valuable resource for scholars, students, and laymen interested in earlier health reform movements.

Intended for high school and college students, teachers, adult educational groups, and general readers, this book is of value to them primarily as a learning and reference tool. It also provides a critical perspective on the actions and legacies of ordinary and elite blacks and their non-black allies.