Then - Circa 1930 photo of the Christiansburg Masonic Lodge building. The Christiansburg Masonic Lodge (Mt. Olivet Lodge No. 226 F&AM) was established in 1852. Until 1856 the lodge met in the IOOF Hall.  Then the lodge met in the third floor of a building built by James Smith on lot #11 (corner of N. Main & Second Streets). In 1879 the lodge purchased the building and rented the first floor to James Heffner who established a grocery there. In 1898 the building was widened, and an addition was added to the west.  In 1992 the building was severely damaged by fire.  It was later repaired. The Champaign County Historical Society thanks Candy Gilliam for sharing this photo and other photos of locations in Christiansburg. Source: Christiansburg, Ohio, Reflections of Our Village, A Bicentennial History 1817-2017

Now - 2018 photo of the Christiansburg Masonic Lodge building.  Currently, the Christiansburg Community Library occupies the first floor. Also, the Marion Ross Museum is located in this building. Ross, a Civil War Veteran, was recipient of the Medal of Honor.

The Champaign County Historical Society is an all-volunteer, not-for profit organization that preserves, protects, archives and displays the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story.  The society depends upon donations and dues to provide a free public museum, which is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays.
 

This is a photo (#0483) of the fleet of trucks of the Wilkins Trucking Service of Kennard, Ohio. The trucks have Ohio 1930 license plates. Note the large motormeters on the radiators of the two trucks on the right of the photo. Motormeters were devices that indicated the temperature of the coolant. Drivers are in every truck except the second from the left. Diagonally across the radiator of the second truck from the right is spelled Bellefontaine. It is not clear what this signifies. The truck to the far left appears to be a dump truck while the others are livestock trucks. This is commercial photograph taken by William Whitham who was a commercial photographer in Champaign County during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

As we have no information about the trucking service, we would appreciate information about it including owner’s name and location of the business and other information relevant to the photo. Also, information about the trucks (year, make, model etc.) would be appreciated.

The Champaign County Historical Society is an all-volunteer, not-for profit organization that preserves, protects, archives and displays the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story.  The society depends upon donations and dues to provide a free public museum, which is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays.

Check out the letter sweaters from 1938 in this sampling of Terre Haute historical photos!

Learn more Terre Haute history at the CCHS Museum, open Sunday (1-4pm) and Monday & Tuesday (11am-4pm).

Champaign County has been the home of many well-known political figures. Do you remember Bill Saxbe and Bud Brown?  How about our mystery 3rd politician? Check out these photos from the Museum and plan a visit to learn more this election season!

Over the years, the face of Mechanicsburg has changed. Enjoy these views from yesteryear and learn more about Mechanicsburg's history at the CCHS museum!

Do you know where these photos were taken in Champaign County?  We do, and we have the historical background information on each one. Visit us, and triad to figure it out 😉

Relics of Champaign County's past! Do you have experience using any of these items? Tell us all about it in the comments or come see these items firsthand in the Champaign County Historical Society Museum!

Champaign County was “all in” on the battlefield, at sea, and in the air.   We were also “all-in”  with war production and savings.  The Museum has a large collection of WWII photos and displays.  Here is a sample of them.

Dateline 1952: The Urbana City Building and Firehouse burns down.  Spectacular fire, and huge crowds were their to witness the disaster!  Were you there?  Were your parents or grandparents? 

Learn all about it at the Champaign County Museum!