Bethany Station Bethany Station is the original name for the Voice of America operation in West Chester Twp., north of Tylersville Road, south of Hamilton-Mason Road, east of I-75 and west of Butler-Warren Road. It was called Bethany Station because of its proximity to a telephone exchange in the community of Bethany, immediately west of the VOA site. George Crout described the VOA as "a field of 22 antennae and a maze of wires" which are its transmission towers. It is one of four such installations in the nation and Crout said "at any time, day or night, programs are being broadcast, consuming 3.5 million watts -- enough to serve a community of 14,000. The 10 transmitters broadcast to Europe, Africa and South of America. The Voice of America speaks in 41 languages to 100 million listeners," said Crout in Butler County, An Illustrated History, published in 1983.
The VOA was built under military protection in Section 12 of Union Township in 1943, during World War II, by the Crosley Broadcasting Corp., operators of WLW, whose Mason transmitter is nearby. The following Sept. 23, 1944, statement by Clifford Durr, Director of the Federal Communications Commission, describes the VOA's role: "In Bethany, Ohio, on last year’s corn crop, there stands tonight a forest of wires and towering poles. They are the siege guns of radio, the heavy artillery. Guns of war that can hurl explosive facts against the enemy’s lies and confusion anywhere in the world. They are the potential guns of peace that can be turned against misinformation and ideas that lead to war."
From World War II and the Korean War through the Cold War and Vietnam War, Bethany Station transmitted broadcasts which originate in Washington. VOA was part of the United States Information Agency. During the Cold War, VOA sent a variety of programs from as many as 22 transmitters on 625 acres north of Tylersville Road to more than 130 million people around the world each week. In 1991 VOA broadcast in 45 languages. With the Cold War ended, federal budget cutters chopped funding for the Union Township facility. After 51 years, it closed Nov. 14, 1994.
Demolition of transmission towers began in 1997. Voice of America Park & Museum, 8070 Tylersville Road, between Cox and Butler-Warren roads, with access from Tylersville Road and Cox Road, is a 330-acre West Chester Twp. park that will feature a range of active and passive recreational opportunities designed to complement the historical significance of the Voice of America. Plans include creation of a museum and park to recognize the significance of the site. The massive towers are gone and much of the land has been converted to other uses, but the VOA main building remains as the core of the museum.
In June 2003, West Chester Twp. officials announced an agreement with the Gray History of Wireless Museum, formerly located at the WCET Channel 48 (PBS) facilities in Cincinnati's West End, to establish displays and store its large collection at the VOA museum. The Gray Museum has early radio gear, including items from the beginning of the 19th century and some relating to Powel Crosley, builder of the VOA facility. The Gray museum will remain an independent, nonprofit corporation with its own board of trustees and will retain ownership of the items in its collection.
In November 2006, the Voice of America site was named to the National Register of Historic Places.
Part of the former VOA property on Hamilton-Mason Road was developed by MetroParks of Butler County as Freedom's Voice Reserve, including a sledding hill, a lake and a 1.5-mile loop trail around the lake. About 700,000 cubic yards of soil were excavated to form the 30-acre lake. The excavated earth was used to create the sledding hill. The reserve opened in December 2003. Construction was completed June 30, 2006, on a $2.3 million boathouse and lodge. The 6,000 square foot building was dedicated July 13, 2006.
Oct. 5, 2004, MetroParks renamed the facility -- at 7850 VOA Park Drive, off Cox Road, south of Hamilton-Mason Road -- the Ronald Reagan Voice of Freedom Park. (Also see Voice of America Learning Center.)