Current Exhibit

Due to construction on the Historical Society campus, our exhibits are not currently open during regularly-scheduled times. Group tours of the campus are available upon request, if you don’t mind a little dirt.

Our new exhibit will open March 11, 2012 with regularly-scheduled hours.

Financing the Civil War:

Small Change – Big Debt

March 11, 2012 through June 23, 2012

   The Wayne County Historical Society, in celebration of the anniversary of the American Civil War, is bringing together for the first time, collections of financial papers and currency from collectors throughout the Midwest. This exhibit will illustrate  how governments from both sides of the war dealt with the issues of supporting a major war, paying troops and buying supplies.

Also included in this exhibit will be materials illustrating how local citizens coped with the lack of small change, an issue which plagued both north and south throughout the conflict. The most complete collection of Wayne County merchant tokens ever assembled will be on display, as well as the first “green back” note and Confederate bonds. Even counterfeit notes will be on display!

A catalog of the exhibit will be available along with discussion materials dealing with financial issues of the Civil War. These materials will highlight how changes made to our national banking system during this time period are still in use today. These changes include tax stamps on financial documents, a national currency system, which led to the Federal Reserve, and the first income tax, which was greatly opposed at this time, but is part of our lives today.

Please join us for an amazing exhibit!