About the Champaign County Historical Society
The Historical Society museum collects, preserves, and interprets artifacts, documents, and other resources from Champaign County to educate current and future generations about our history. The museum has been located at 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana, since 1972. Originally established in 1934, the museum first housed its collection at the former location of the Champaign County Library on West Market Street, and then moved to the Nutwood Barn, south of Grimes Field on North Main Street. The museum is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Photo caption: This photo, of the Indian Hunter sculpture at John Quincy Adams Ward’s Oak Dale Cemetery gravesite, is from the William “Bill” Whitman photography collection in the Champaign County Historical Society’s archives. To enable our staff and volunteers to move exhibits from the upstairs area, and to move the workspace upstairs, the museum will be closed starting December 11th. We will reopen on January 28, 2024, for our annual meeting.
We are sorry for any inconvenience this might cause and look forward to seeing everyone in the new year! The annual Christmas dinner will be held Dec. 10, 2023, beginning with a social hour at 4:00 pm. Dinner, catered by Amy Forest of In Good Taste Catering, will be served at 5:00 p.m. by the Girl Scout Troop #32191 and adviser, Ashley Skinner. The cost will be $20.00 per person paid in advance.
The social hour will offer beverages and a charcuterie service of assorted cheeses, veggies, and crackers. The meal will include brown sugar glazed spiral sliced ham, au gratin potatoes, green beans almondine, rolls, butter, and assorted small bite desserts. Beverages of water, tea and coffee will be available. To ensure everyone can have a comfortable dining experience, we have a reservation limit of 60 people. The dinner is not limited to CCHS members. Feel free to invite your friends! Call the Museum, 937-653-6721, Mon – Fri 10-4 and Sat 10-2 to reserve your spot. (Reservations are not final until the money has been received.) Holiday music, flickering candles, delicious food – who could ask for more! Celebrate the summer and spend a lazy Sunday afternoon enjoying a delicious lunch at the Museum. With the support of The Peoples Savings Bank, the 3rd Annual Picnic on the Lawn will be held August 27, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. Bring your friends and savor the delicious chicken salad, yummy croissant, baked beans, and pasta salad served by In Good Taste Catering. Top it off with home baked berry cobbler, iced tea or lemonade…what could be better?
Tickets are $12.00 per person and are available at the Museum, The Peoples Savings Bank or on this website. Ticket sales end Aug. 23. No tickets will be available the day of the event! See you at the “Picnic on the Lawn”! During the recent Antique Appraisal Fair at the Champaign County Historical Museum prizes were awarded for the “Most Unusual” and the “Most Valuable“ items submitted for appraisal.
APRIL 14, 2023 12 -2 pm Champaign Co. Historical Museum 809 E. Lawn Ave. Urbana, OH Free Admission Join us April 14, 2023 from 12 -2 pm, when artist and writer, Robert Kroeger, will visit the Champaign County Historical Society and Museum (CCHS) to sign his latest book Round Barns of America – 75 Icons of History. The hard cover book features 75 round barns (circular, octagonal, or other polygonal without right angles) in 32 states, stretching from the east coast to the wild west. Enjoy the colorful stories, some of them intriguing rags to riches tales such as Absalom Jennings and his Nutwood, the brick round barn, built in 1858 in Ohio, and Schandor Herz, born in Slovakia in the 19th. century and raised in Chicago, finishing his years on a sumptuous Kentucky horse farm in Bourbon County and its rare tetradecagonal barn. Together, these 75 round barns represent a cross section of American pioneers, dating from years before the American Revolution to the glory decades of round barns – 1870s to 1920s. It is the first book to cover round barns on a national scope and its stories capture early Americana! Three round barns in Champaign County were included in the book and the owners of the barns will share their knowledge of their respective barns’ history and architectural details. In addition, Mr. Kroeger will share stories of his travels and discoveries. Complimentary wine and light refreshments will be served following the program. Mr. Kroeger has appeared twice at the museum in the past to demonstrate his barn painting technique and to sign his previous book published in 2021, Historic Barns of Ohio. Following his presentations, he presented the Museum with twenty- four of his original Champaign County barn paintings for use as a fund raising tool. The CCHS featured twelve of the paintings on the 2023 Calendar. The proceeds of the calendar sales and a percentage of the proceeds from the auction of those twelve paintings have gone towards the operations of the Museum. The additional twelve paintings will be offered at auction in the near future. If you are unable to attend the book signing, you may purchase the book from the publisher, Acclaim Press - www.acclaimpress.com
Are you interested in finding out what we have planned for 2023 here at the Champaign County Historical Society Museum? Take a look below to see our full calendar of events for the year and fill your calendar with your favorites! *All events are subject to change. January 22 Annual Membership Meeting 2:00 p.m.
February 26 Black History Month Presentation 2:00 p.m. March 23 Antique Appraisal Fair 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. April 14 Dr. Robert Kroeger 12:00 p.m. Round Barns of America Book Signing and Barn Stories May 20-21 Mid-American Band Organ Rally 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. https://www.mechanicalmusic.org/band-organs July 16 Ice Cream Social 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. August 27 Picnic on the Lawn 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. October 1 Oktoberfest 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. November 5 Bowling Party 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. December 10 Christmas Dinner 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
On January 22, 2023, at 2 p.m. Max and Janice Coates will be presenting a program on the history of North Lewisburg at the Champaign County Historical Society located at 809 E. Lawn Ave. Urbana, Ohio. Join us on the 22nd of January to find out fun and interesting facts about this area of Rush Township.
|
Champaign County Historical Society Board PresidentTerry Koster Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|