The Wayne County Historical Society honors local men and women who served in the military in this year’s featured exhibit, “From the Collection: Wayne County in the Armed Forces,” on display through December. Tours of the exhibit and the rest of the historical society’s eight-building campus, located at 546 E. Bowman St. in Wooster, are available every Saturday at 1 and 2:30 p.m. Group and school tours are available by appointment. Call 330.264.8856 for more information.
Through artifacts, photos, and documents, “From the Collection: Wayne County in the Armed Forces” tells the stories of more than 100 Wayne County residents who served their country in conflicts from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam, including T/Sgt. Dale Hartsel of the 82nd Airborne Division, who won the Silver Star in France in June 1944; Sgt. Marilyn Strock, a Marine recruiter in New Orleans during World War II; and Sgt. James Ross, a combat medic with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam.
From the beginning, Wayne County has had a connection to our country’s military. The county is named after General Anthony Wayne, and its county seat is named after General David Wooster. Since its establishment in 1812, Wayne Countians have served in our nation’s armed forces in both peace and war, creating a bond that joins them together, without regard to the time or place in which they served.
The exhibit is organized by service rather than time period, and the space afforded to each individual is determined by items of interest within the collection. Near the beginning of the exhibit is a display of U.S. medals and decorations. As each individual presented wears the appropriate ribbon of awards they earned while in the military, the visitor may want to refer back to this display of medals for details of particular uniforms.
The Wayne County Historical Society is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of Wayne County, Ohio. Founded in 1904, today the historical society operates a campus with eight buildings, including a pioneer-era log house, a mid-19th century general store, and the Beall-Stibbs House, begun in 1816 and completed in the early 1820s by War of 1812 veteran General Reasin Beall.
