Worthington was planned under the leadership of a man named James Kilbourn, who formed the Scioto Company in order to purchase land west of the Allegheny Mountains. 38 original proprietors from Connecticut and Massachusetts bought 16,000 acres of land, and the first families arrived in 1803, the same year that Ohio became a state. The area now known as Worthington consisted of 8,000 acres divided into town lots for homes and businesses, surrounded by farmland, a layout true to New England’s style.

In 1803, the Scioto Company voted to name the village for Ohio Senator Thomas Worthington. The village began to prosper, forming an Episcopal congregation and Masonic Lodge in 1804, and opening a post office in 1805, an academy in 1808, and a newspaper and manufacturing company in 1811. Worthington was officially incorporated as a village in 1835 and maintained a stable population through the remainder of the nineteenth century.

In 1893, the electric street railway was constructed to connect Columbus and Worthington, which turned Worthington into a suburb, as residents could work or shop in the city. By the start of World War II, the community had a population of 1,569, and the city saw significant growth after the war. By 1970, the population had reached 15,326. Worthington developed new subdivisions, businesses and schools almost annually. The completion of I-270 in 1975 brought more growth to the city, making it the successful and accessible suburb it is today.