The marker is tentatively set to be dedicated in October 2025 on Antioch’s campus.
Although born in Syracuse, New York, and raised in Binghamton, New York, Ohio and Antioch had a lot of influence on Serling as writer. Following his service in World War II, he followed in his brother Robert’s footsteps and enrolled at Antioch, where he would study theater and broadcasting but earned a Bachelor of Arts in literature in 1950.
The campus was also where Serling met and married his wife, Carol, while still students. Serling stayed in the area following graduation and quickly put his creative skills to work on local radio airwaves.
“Ohio shaped the work done by Rod Serling across his lifetime as it is the place where he found and developed his writer’s voice,” said Kimberlee Kiehl, Ph.D., executive director of the Ohioana Library Association. “His weekly radio plays for WJEL in Springfield, his dramas written for WHIO and his years at Antioch all contributed to him becoming the writer he was and to creating stories, shows and films that have stood the test of time.”
Scott Sanders, Antioch College’s archivist for 30 years, said he was very gratified with the news as more people have researched Serling than any other subject at the school.
“For me, to have the marker solidifies our relationship with him. It was here he would learn to think, imagine and got him into broadcasting and went on to do shows here in the area,” Sanders said.
Credit: John Hoke courtesy of Antiochiana, Antioch College
Credit: John Hoke courtesy of Antiochiana, Antioch College
Antioch College director of communications Franchesca Smith said the historical marker could be a potential influencer for prospective students as an example of an Antioch alum who excelled.
“Rod Serling had commitment, and they can use this school as a way to foster creativity and go out into the world to explore it the way he did,” she said.
Smith mentioned a current Antioch student came there because of the Serling association and was involved in writing a Serling bio for this project.
Although Serling contributed to many movies and television shows in various genres, he will always be linked with “The Twilight Zone,” the anthology series he created, hosted and wrote many of the episodes of that ran from 1959 to 1964 and become a staple in syndication since.
The series combined science fiction, horror, drama and even humorous themes, often with twist endings that captured viewers’ imaginations. Serling’s distinctive voice and the show’s theme song became pop culture hallmarks.
“The title has entered into our public discourse as one of the most successful series in the history of television,” said Sanders. “The key to him entertaining was he also made points about our condition and about our society. He had such an expansive imagination.”
Another point of pride for Antioch was while the show was still airing on CBS in the early 1960s, Serling came back to teach two terms of adult media writing.
The historical marker will be placed outside One Morgan Place on the campus where the three original buildings remain, including South Hall and McGregor Hall, where the freshman Serling would’ve spent time.
Smith said while the marker dedication does not yet have a set date, event organizers would like to involve the community and link it to the annual three-day Yellow Springs Film Festival and include special events and possibly Serling-related programming. More information will be shared at a future date.
“It will be something historical impacting our students,” she said.
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