Historical Society celebrates 50th year of Highland House Museum

By Pamela Nickell
H.C. Historical Society

This is the 12th article in a series from the Highland County Historical Society featuring members of the HCHS Hall of Fame and in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Highland House Museum.

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Emma Sayler Detwiler
1848-1933

Emma Sayler Detwiler was a renowned artist whose portraits have remained quite popular and have become collectors’ gems.

Emma was born in Hillsboro on Nov. 4, 1848. She graduated from Hillsboro Female College and then attended the Cincinnati Art Institute where she studied under C.T. Weber, Henry Mosher and Israel Quick.

She became a well-known portrait painter, many of which still hang in Hillsboro homes. Her portraits of children, notable for their quaintness and charm, have become particularly valuable. Her portrait of Lt. Col. Austin, who died at the Battle of the Argonne in World War I, now hangs in Austin Hall at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Emma married Leander Detwiler in 1871 and lived on East Walnut Street.

Leander owned a store that sold books and paper. Together, Emma and Leander wrote and taught others to write beautiful Spencerian script. Emma’s mother, Margaret Sayler, in 1925 became the first Hillsboro citizen to celebrate a 100th birthday.

Emma Sayler Detwiler, and later her three daughters, left a great artistic legacy in Hillsboro.