The Village incorporates a number of restored 1800s historical buildings. These include the 18801882 John Wright Mansion, the 1860s Merry School House, the 1848 Detterman Church, the 1836 Seymour House, several log homes and barns, a general store, a hardware store, a post office, and an ice house.
The site offers exhibits, tours, demonstrations, workshops, and recreational and educational events (including living history events).
Thomas Alva Edison, inventor of the phonograph, the incandescent light bulb, and many other devices that make modern life fuller and simpler, was born in Milan, OH, in 1847. The Edison Birthplace Museum features a collection of rare Edisonia, including examples of many of Edison's early inventions, documents, and family mementos.
The museum offers exhibits and tours.
The Springfield Preservation Alliance is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to recognizing, preserving and revitalizing the architectural and cultural heritage of Springfield, Ohio. The Alliance hosts a variety of educational events and pushes for responsible legislation regarding Springfield's historic landmarks.
The site offers information about upcoming events, their public policy, how to get involved, and also offers resources for activists.
The Society maintains a museum and Glendower State Memorial. The Museum is housed in Harmon Hall, a three story, 28,000-square-foot brick building. It contains artifacts from prehistoric eras to the mid-20th century. Glendower is a restored Greek Revival mansion, one of the five built during the 19th century. John Milton Williams, a framer of the state's constitution, employed Amos Bennett to build the rectangular central unit in the 1840s. The 13 rooms include a formal drawing room with two fireplaces. All rooms, furnished with Empire and early Victorian style pieces, reflect the skilled local craftsmen and gracious living of the residents.
A website specifically for the Historical Society can be found here.
The society offers occasional recreational and educational events; the museum offers exhibits, tours, and research library access; Glendower offers tours.
Central Insurance started out in 1876 as a fire insurance company. The threat of a disastrous fire was always very real and the equipment used to fight fire primitive. F. W. "Bill" Purmort, Jr., President of Central from 1964 to 1994, first took an interest in collecting fire equipment in 1969. He gradually built Central's museum into one of the finest privately owned collections in the U.S. The museum exhibits a collection of leather fire buckets dating back to the 1700s; over 600 antique fire toys consisting of cast-iron, rubber, glass, tin, and wood construction; a large display of fire extinguishers and glass fire "grenades" dating from the 1850s; a rare and valuable collection of "firemarks" dating back to 1720; a wardrobe of antique fireman helmets and uniforms; Van Wert's first hand-drawn pumper used in 1871; an Ahrens horse-drawn steam pumper which was purchased new in 1907 by the city of Van Wert and restored by Central; and a 1926 Ahrens-Fox pumper, the Rolls Royce of firetrucks.
The museum offers exhibits and tours.
This 17-room Victorian home, topped by a third-floor ballroom, has been carefully restored by the Society to its original turn-of-the-century splendor and features the unique treasures of the original furniture and antiques that were the property of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah E. Reeves, arranged as they would have been 100 years ago. These beautiful family furnishings can be viewed up close, as there are no ropes or barriers prohibiting entrance into the rooms. The Carriage House Museum, located behind the home, contains an interesting collection of vehicles—the family's handsome, horse-drawn carriage, along with the family sleigh, a rare electric car, and a newly restored doctor's buggy. Throughout the carriage house are numerous displays and artifacts that trace Dover's past, a past quite typical of many small towns in America.
The house and museum offer exhibits; tours; occasional lectures; and occasional educational and recreational events, including living history events.
The Society's Museum presents exhibits exploring the varied history of the islands of Lake Erie's Western Basin.
The museum offers exhibits, tours, lectures, research library access, and occasional recreational and educational events and programs.
Camp Dennison, just outside of Cincinnati, was a military training camp and hospital camp during the Civil War. Today, visitors to Camp Dennison will find the 1804 Waldschmidt House Historical Museum and the Ohio Civil War Museum on site. The area offers information and insight into the Civil War and the happenings at Camp Dennison during this time period.
The museum offers tours, exhibits, and educational and recreational programs.
Maintained by the Fairfield Heritage Organization, the 1811 Sherman House was the birthplace of General William Tecumseh Sherman and his brother, U.S. Senator John Sherman, and has been restored and furnished to period. Exhibits in the space include Sherman family memorabilia; a recreation of General Sherman's Civil War field tent including several items he used during the war; and a sound and light presentation depicting his passion for the Union.
The Georgian Museum is housed in an 1832 Federal-style home has been restored and furnished today as it would have been in the 1830s with some original pieces and numerous early Fairfield County items.
Both museums offer exhibits and tours, as well as educational programs.
The Lakewood Historical Society maintains Lakewood's Oldest Stone House, built in 1838. The house continues memorabilia revealing the pioneer past of the city, including spinning wheels, furniture, household items, clothing, tools, books, dolls, and toys.
The museum offers tours, exhibits, demonstrations, and education and recreational programs.