The Wayne County Historical Society will host a holiday open house for the public on Friday, Dec. 17, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 18, from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $5.00 for adults and free for those 17 and under. Masks are required for all visitors except children under five. Check in at the 1873 schoolhouse near the Spink St. entrance to the grounds before beginning your self-guided tour.
Highlights include the Beall-Stibbs House, decorated for the season as the Beall and Stibbs families would have done in the early 19th century; a display of locally made Toycraft toys in the general store; and a collection of red and green quilts in the dress shop. The carriage house features a sleigh decorated with gifts for the season, a mail wagon from Marshallville, and Gerstenslager carriages, while the firehouse offers a collection of antique fire apparatus spanning 100 years.
In the Kister building you can take a selfie in the original Freedlander’s Santa chair before enjoying three special exhibits. “Votes for Women! Woman’s Journey to be Heard and Treated as an Equal” looks at how the suffrage movement fits into the larger context of women’s political and social activism in Wayne County, from abolition to the temperance movement. A second small display concerning prohibition in Wayne County includes a still seized by the Wayne County Sheriff.
Finally, a new exhibit spotlights August and Catherine Nold Imgard and the history of the first Christmas tree in Wayne County. The historical society was given paintings of many of the Imgard family along with other items during a recent visit by their descendants, all of which will be on display for the first time.
In addition to the open house, smaller guided tours are available by appointment only until Dec. 31, by calling 330-317-0114.
