South Side Settlement House was founded in 1899 by a group of women members of the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They saw a group of small children, dressed in foreign clothes and speaking in an unfamiliar language, playing in the street. To help the children they started a kindergarten in a church, which was soon moved to half of a double house on Wood Avenue. The next move was in 1909 to a store room at 318 Barthman Avenue, though within a few months the entire building was needed.

In 1910 the project was officially recognized as a project of the Methodist Church with Miss Johanna Hillman becoming the first deaconess. In that year Girls' and Women's work was organized, as well as a Boys' Club and a Dispensary. In 1911 a Women's Club was organized. In that same year land was purchased at 363 Reeb Avenue and construction of a building with three rooms and a gymnasium was started. This was expanded in 1925 so that the Settlement could also include manual training for boys, a dental clinic, and library, as well as citizenship and literacy classes.

In 1928 Camp Henderson was added to the annual program. In 1947 land was purchased in Sugar Grove by Methodist women to start Triple S camp. In 1988 a Master Plan was adopted to secure the future of the camp. This included the multipurpose Rotary Lodge dedicated in 1995, and new cabins which continued to be constructed. Some 400 children participate annually in the residential summer camp program. For many children, camp provides their only experience outside of the routine of their urban neighborhood.

Through the years the Settlement House has received support from the community. In 1938 a women's group, the South Side Settlement Links, was formed to help support programming. By 1940 sixteen Links were in existence. The Settlement had joined the Community Chest during World War I, and was a charter member when the United Way was started.

South Side Settlement has always been deeply involved with its neighborhood. It has been home to many clubs and groups as well as providing space for receptions and other social occasions. Local gardens and playgrounds have been sponsored by the Settlement House. In 1983 the Settlement worked with the Reeb-Hosack Area Planning Committee to help build new housing that would not destroy the character of the area and would not displace local residents. In the 1980's the Settlement was also active in having the city maintain a health clinic in the neighborhood which led to the building of South Side John Maloney Health Center on Parsons Avenue.

The present South Side Settlement building was opened in April of 1980, after many years of planning, fund raising and construction. In addition to rooms that encourage interaction by flowing into each other, it has a gymnasium and theater, as well as areas that have been used for a health clinic and daycare. Ten years later, in April 1990, the IntroCenter ceremonial courtyard staircase was dedicated. It is one of the few public pieces of art on the South Side, and is one of the largest works of sculpture in Columbus.

The Settlement is concerned not only with immediate local problems and issues, but also with the larger questions that ultimately affect all of us in a world society. In the 1960's and the 1970's the Settlement was actively engaged in the struggle for Civil Rights and integration and the rights of the poor and disenfranchised. These and other social problems continue to be concerns.

South Side Settlement seeks to "build a community of culture and concern, rooted in social and economic justice", by cutting across the divisions of race, class, gender and age that often separate people. It is a group-work centered human services agency, located in an ethnically diverse neighborhood. Though it is part of the South Side, its involvement and vision extend beyond geographic boundaries to the larger community. The Settlement has a long history of success in organizing programs in social, educational and cultural enrichment that have benefited and influenced the lives of many people over the past one hundred years.