Champaign County Historical Society News - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

Thanksgiving Week Museum Hours

11/23/2019

The Champaign County Historical Society Museum will be open the week of Thanksgiving, but there are some changes.

Tuesday, Nov. 26th,10am-4pm (regular hours)
Wednesday Nov. 27th, 10am-12pm
Closed the rest of the week, Nov. 28th-Dec. 2nd.

The museum will open for our regular hours again on Tuesday, December 3rd.

We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Champaign County Historical Museum Announces New Hours!

7/9/2019

The Champaign County Historical Museum located at 809 E. Lawn Ave., Urbana, is pleased to announce new and expanded hours. Effective immediately the museum will be open Tuesday - Friday 10 - 4 and Saturday 10 - 2. The museum will be closed on Mondays.

“We sincerely appreciate the voters who came out to support our levy which would have allowed us to hire full-time staff - a director, curator, and custodian,” said Dan Walter, CCHS President. “But since that issue did not pass, we are intensifying our campaign for new memberships and donations and are implementing new fundraising events. Recently these efforts have encouraged our board of trustees to hire a part-time Museum Operations Manager, Cheryl Ogden. This is a one-year post which we hope to extend pending successful fundraising.”

Cheryl Ogden

Cheryl Ogden

“Cheryl Ogden comes to us with exceptional skills and experience,” Walter continued. “She holds a BA in History as well as an MA in Public History, has worked in several museum venues, and is a Champaign County resident. She works well with the public, and we are most pleased to have her on board - so bring the family out to meet her on a hot summer day and enjoy our cool museum!” Since 1934 the Champaign County Historical Museum has preserved, protected, archived and displayed over 14,000 artifacts. The museum continues to present our local history to groups of elementary students and offer monthly programs - free to the public. All are invited to support the museum and receive the newsletter by joining in person or paying online by credit card.

Champaign Chronicles: Summer Newsletter

6/28/2019

Read about what's happening at the Champaign County Historical Museum this summer in the latest edition of the Champaign Chronicles!

Champaign County Historical Society Newsletter

Click to download and view.

CCHS Presents "Tuskegee Airmen" on June 2nd

5/24/2019

Captain John C. Mitchell

Captain John C. Mitchell

On Sunday June 2 at 2:00 pm the Champaign County Historical Museum will present a free program on the world-famous Tuskegee Airmen. Captain John C. Mitchell, the son of an original Tuskegee Airman, and the President of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc., Ohio Memorial Chapter, will headline the program.

Commissioned originally as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, Captain Mitchell earned his Air Force Wings in 1976 at Williams AFB, Arizona. Throughout his career on active duty and in the reserves, he flew the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter and later the C-5 Galaxy, the largest cargo aircraft in the world, throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, and Africa. After spending a short time with the FAA, Captain Mitchell had a second career as a commercial airline pilot, flying 9 different airliners for U. S. Airways, later American Airlines. He retired as an active pilot in 2017.

Wendell Stokes

Wendell Stokes

In addition, the only Tuskegee Airman from Champaign County, the late Wendell Stokes, will be honored. Mr. Stokes, an educator and Urbana city councilman, served as a Bombardier/Navigator in WWII, training with his fellow Tuskegee Airmen in Tuskegee, Alabama. Following the war Mr. Stokes was instrumental in the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. During his service as President of that organization he helped establish the Tuskegee Airmen Monument which stands in the U. S. Air Force Museum Memorial Park.

Tuskegee Airmen

The Champaign County Historical Museum is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization that depends upon donations and dues to preserve, protect, archive and display the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story. The free public museum located at 809 E. Lawn Ave., Urbana. is open to the public from 10 -4 Mondays and Tuesdays.

Is Your Heirloom Valuable?

4/2/2019

Historical Society to Host Antiques Appraisal Fair

Champaign County Antiques Appraisal Fair

Members of the CCHS Spring Fundraiser Committee include, from left, Larry Headlee, Dr. Dave Smith of Freshwater Farms, Ken Wright, Rob Pollock (chair), Sally Johnson, Beth Adair and Dan Walter.

The Champaign County Historical Museum has created a new spring fundraiser, Antiques Appraisal Fair, to be held in the museum from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 25. Patterned after the PBS series “Antiques Roadshow,” the event will be sponsored by the locally owned and operated Freshwater Farms of Ohio. All proceeds will benefit the museum, located at 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana.

“We hope that this new fundraising event will be a success,” stated Rob Pollock, event chair. “The funds raised will help keep our museum open to the public.”

Five experienced appraisers in locations throughout the museum will describe the history and estimated value of each item presented. They include Jacob Berner (Donnelsville) – antiques and fine art; Dan Fawcett (Cable) – collectibles; Buzz Jackson (Springfield) – military artifacts; Rob Pollock (Urbana) – mechanical music, radios, business machines and office equipment; and Greg Shipley (West Liberty) – Native American artifacts. At least one of the appraisers has appeared on the PBS TV show.

The price of admission – $20 in advance, $25 at the door – includes one appraisal and a wine and cheese “bistro” provided by Freshwater Farms so that folks can socialize during the event and tour the museum rather than simply wait in line.

Regarding the “show” component, an appraiser will be announced five times throughout the evening; he will then present a special item to those gathered in the main meeting room.

Tickets may be purchased at the museum (Mondays and Tuesdays), at local banks – First Central National, Peoples, Perpetual, Civista Bank, all county Security National Bank locations – and online.

In addition to benefiting the museum and preserving its artifacts, the event is expected to be entertaining to attendees of all ages and hopefully one that will build from year to year. This is an opportunity to have evaluated a family heirloom, an item from the attic or perhaps something found when spring cleaning.

New Museum Hours

11/16/2018

The Champaign County Historical Museum will no longer be open on Sunday afternoons except when there is a scheduled program.

Museum hours are Mondays and Tuesdays, 10am - 4pm.

Kiser Lake Program to be Presented at Museum on Sept. 23

9/19/2018

Thyrza Kiser

Thyrza Kiser

On Sunday, Sept. 23 at 2:00 pm The Champaign County Historical Society located at 809 E. Lawn Ave., will host Bill Kremer, long-time Ranger at Kiser Lake State Park, who will present a program entitled, “Kiser Lake and the Kiser Family’s Impact on Champaign County - and Beyond.”

The program will include the history of the Kiser Family, their industrial base, the creation of Kiser Lake, and their impact both in Champaign County and throughout the nation.

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 museum is open from 10 -4 Mondays and Tuesdays and from 1-4 Sundays.

President's Update

8/16/2018

We have worked hard to increase our presence throughout the county and people have noticed! If you have not had a chance to take our 10-question survey on our website, please do so. We are receiving valuable input and welcome more of the same. Moreover, we received many visitors at the fair and learned a lot from them.

A number of supporters weighed in on our levy campaign and suggested that many voters do not realize just how small the millage is. Others seemed to think that it will apply to all citizens, not just property owners. We’re listening and will highlight:

3/10 of a mil
in our promotional materials and further explain that this equates to about
$10 per year on a property appraised at $100,000.

More than ever, we need the support of all members to pass this issue and thus stabilize our museum operation. Contributions made to the CCHS Campaign Committee will be deposited in the First Central National Bank of St. Paris and may be sent to:
CCHS
P. O. Box 65, Urbana, OH, 43078.

As always, we thank you for your support.

-Dan Walter

Car Show Coming to the Museum Saturday, Aug. 25

8/16/2018

The 5th Annual Harmony Lodge No. 8 Free & Accepted Masons Car & Bike Show is coming to the Champaign County Historical Museum on Saturday, Aug. 25th. More details included in the poster below.

The Coconut Lounge Presented by DJ/Historian Dick Hatfield on July 8

7/6/2018

On Sunday July 8 at 2:00 pm, longtime DJ and historian DICK HATFIELD (aka The Imperial DeBubba) will present his recollections of The Coconut Lounge at the Champaign County Historical Society Museum, located at 809 E. Lawn Ave., Urbana.

If you hear the drum intro to “Sherry” and burst in to song - or wonder about those who do - you’ll not want to miss this trip down memory lane when the Four Seasons, Beach Boys, and 35 other top bands appeared between April 1963 and Jan. 1965 at this nightclub on the Upper Valley Pike right here in Champaign County.