The Richland County Museum

The Richland County Museum - Preserving the past for a better tomorrow.

   News!  

      The major event of the year has to be the return, after nearly 40 years, of the Civil War coat and sword of Colonel Robert Brown.  Theft is a danger to all museums, and The Richland County Museum suffered such a loss in 1970 when the coat and sword, on loan from Dr. Charles Brown, Colonel Brown's grandson, went missing, along with several other Civil War era items.  Compounding the distress of losing the items was our dismay at having betrayed the trust the Browns had in loaning it to us.

     Thanks to a sharp-eyed Civil War buff, Kent Dorr, the items were spotted for sale on E-Bay.  Dorr contacted a fellow Civil War reenacter, Richland County Sheriff's Deputy Rich Eichinger, and the two of them, with the help of Capt. Robert Heyde, also of the Sheriff's Department, and Brett Mitchell, tracked down the seller and informed him that the items had been stolen.  He willingly returned them to the Brown family. 

     The coat and sword were returned to the Brown family, Emily, widow of Dr. Charles, and sons Charles, Robert and Senator Sherrod Brown, at a ceremony Saturday, March 30.  All four men iinvolved in the recovery were given awards by the Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon.

     The Brown family has very generously placed the coat and sword with The Richland County Museum on permanent loan, where they will form the core of a Civil War in Richland County exhibit, open this Spring. 

         Museum to Host OAHSM Region 2 Annual Meeting

            The Richland County Museum will host the Annual Meeting of the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums (OASHM), Region 2, on April 26, 2008. 

            Founded in 1959, OAHSM works with the Ohio Historical Society to encourage the preservation and the presentation of Ohio's heritage.  Each of the 10 Regional groupings of OAHSM member organizations meet yearly to participate in educational seminars and exchange ideas and experiences. 

            This April, our partner on the National Register of Historic Places, The First Congregational Church of Lexington, will provide assembly space for the meetings.

UPCOMING EVENTS  

Blueberry Festival 

 Lexington Park, August 16

Get your old-timey photograph taken at Zehner's Portrait Studio!

     Old Lexington School, c. 1905

        This, believe it or not, is the building that is now The Richland County Museum.  (To see a contemporary image, visit "About Us.") 

     Taken about 1905 by a young local photographer, we can see that the building's original appearance has changed quite a bit.  And how about that bell tower! 

       In the ensuing 150 years since its construction, the building has undergone a number of changes.  The original slate has  been replaced with a standing seam roof.

    The Richland County Museum is an architectural treasure of the County, and is, perhaps, the only surviving school from its era.  The preservation of the building, as well as its contents, is a major trust of the Richland County Museum Association.  

     Thanks to all who have contributed to a fund-raising drive has been instituted to take care of the heating/cooling system and the roof.  The HVAC system was replaced this Spring, completing Phase I of the project!

     In the future, The Richland County Museum Association will be restoring the roof to the original slate.

      Would you like to be part of this historic restoration?  Drop off a contribution at our site, open Sundays May through October, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., or mail a check to us at 51 Church Street W., Lexington, OH 44904.

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