CHAMPAIGN COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM - Champaign County Historical Society News

Picnic on the Lawn Set for August 27th

7/28/2023

Champaign County Historical Museum Picnic on the Lawn

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”!

"Most Unusual" & "Most Valuable" Items at the 2023 Antique Appraisal Fair

4/6/2023

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.

Sue Evans Berkemeier Greg Shipley meteorite

Shown is Sue Evans Berkemeier with appraiser, Greg Shipley, and the meteorite which was discovered by her father and grandfather on the family farm in Champaign County. Found in the late 1940’s, it weighs about 20 pounds and is millions of years old. It has been verified and tested as authentic by the OSU labs As this is such a rare find, she was the winner of the award for the “Most Valuable” item presented at the Fair.

Gary Shambaugh Antique Appraisal Fair

Taking the prize for the “Most Unusual” item was a folk- art piece described as an “iron pig”. Shown is Gary Shambaugh who found the item in a box of toys purchased at a yard sale in the 1970’s. He wanted the hot wheels which were in the box, but, on discovering the unusual figure, he decided to keep it. The figure was painted yellow with pink dots and upon removing the paint he discovered the figure had an animal body with a man’s face. It is considered a rare piece of folk art valued between $250-300.

Mrs. Berkemeier and Mr. Shambaugh donated the cash prizes to the Museum.

Round Barns of America - 75 Icons of History By Robert Kroeger BOOK SIGNING EVENT

3/22/2023

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

"The Tuskegee Airmen" Books for Sale at the Museum

2/15/2023

Tuskegee Airmen books for sale

Join us in recognizing and celebrating Black History Month. This book would make a wonderful gift to an aspiring artist or airman! Let these artful pages introduce the heroes we know as the Tuskegee Airmen. Did you know that Champaign County's Wendell Stokes was part of this extraordinary corps? The books are available in the museum.

2023 Calendar of Events

12/30/2022

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.

Membership meeting January 22nd at 2 p.m. followed by a program on the history of North Lewisburg presented by Max Coates

12/17/2022

THE HISTORY OF NORTH LEWISBURG
1826 – PRESENT
“In 1826, Gray Gary liked the valley of Big Darby Creek so well he laid out this village. The name Lewisburg was in honor of General Andrew Lewis, whom he held in high regard, and it was incorporated in 1844.” The North Lewisburg motto is “Where family, friends, and traditions stay for a lifetime.”

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.

Chester Hooley Exhibit Open House at the Museum Dec. 8

11/30/2022

Chester Hooley art exhibit

The Champaign County Historical Society is currently working on a new exhibit featuring local artist Chester Hooley. This exhibit will feature Hooley’s watercolors as well as some of his other works.

The exhibit will open to the public on December 8, 2022, at an open house event from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be refreshments available.

Avoiding Scams Program Nov. 13

10/21/2022

On Sunday November 13, 2022 at 2 p.m. at the Champaign County Historical Society, Sergeant Todd Pratt and Sgt. Shawn Schmidt will be speaking with those in attendance about current Scams and how to avoid them and how to spot a scam. These scams are commonly started via phone and email and include Charity Fraud, Online Dating Scams, Identity Theft, IRS imposter Scams, "You Won" scams, Work from Home Scams, etc.

CCHS Set to Host 50th Annual OktoberFest on Sunday, Oct. 2

9/26/2022

2022 OktoberFest
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 2, 10am-4pm
WHERE: Champaign County Historical Society Museum (809 E. Lawn Ave. Urbana, Ohio)

Admission is $3.00 per person, cash only at the gates.

Celebrating our 50th Year, this Oktoberfest promises a day of fun for the entire family! The museum will be open to explore, and the grounds will be full of crafters and artists selling hand thrown pottery, candles, wreaths, holiday décor, pumpkins, woodcrafts, scented oils, bath bombs, handcrafted soaps made with natural and organic oils, handmade quilts, jewelry, and lots more! There will be games for the children and decorated pumpkins to buy!

Returning is Schmidt’s Restaurant from German Village, Columbus. They will offer Bahama Mammas, knockwurst, German bologna, German potato salad, kraut, sweet red cabbage, pork or chicken brats, and their famous jumbo cream puffs! If you have not had one, you do not know what you are missing! Heavenly!

Returning, also, is Poppy’s Smokehouse Food Truck with their bbq ribs and pulled pork and pulled chicken. Layla’s Sweet Treats will once again offer premium hand-dipped ice cream in cups, waffle cones, milkshakes, and sundaes!!

Joining us this year is The Fat Straw Co., offering Tiger, Taro, Peach, Dragon Fruit and Tropical milk teas, chai, lemonade, and strawberry matcha.

Joining us, also, is Carter’s Chimney Cakes Food truck. A chimney cake is a traditional Hungarian dessert or Eastern European Street food. It is simply a sweet dough wrapped around a spit cooked over a rotisserie grill, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Delicious toppings are then added such as Oreos, cinnamon sugar, coconut, and sprinkles. When stood up straight, the hot steam comes out from the top of the cake looking like a chimney. They can be made traditional cake style or as a cone filled with goodness. This is a traditional Oktoberfest food and one we are excited to offer our guests!

A local favorite, Farmer’s Daughter will be offering their homemade specials and various vendors will be offering cookies, French macarons, breads, kettle corn, and other delights!

No Oktoberfest is complete without beer – and we will have a beer trailer offering a variety of your favorites!

Delicious food, live entertainment, and an admission price of only $3.00 – what could be better? Mark your calendar and don’t miss this day of fun for the whole family!

Oktoberfest is the largest fundraiser for the Historical Society.

Champaign County Historical Society Hosts Picnic on the Lawn

8/30/2022

The Champaign County Historical Society hosted a Picnic on the Lawn on August 28th. Attendees enjoyed summer breezes, live music, each other's company and a Sunday afternoon lunch of chicken salad on a croissant, baked beans, cookies, iced tea and lemonade catered by In Good Taste Catering. Pictures from the event are below. Click here to see our upcoming events!