WOOSTER, Feb. 28 – The Wayne County Historical Society will reopen to the public for the 2023 season on Saturday, March 11, with four new exhibits. Tours are available every Saturday at 1 and 2:30 p.m. at the historical society’s eight-building campus, located at 546 E. Bowman St. in Wooster. Group and school tours are available by appointment. Call 330.264.8856 for information.
This year’s featured exhibit, on view from March through December, is From the Collection: Wayne County in the Armed Forces. Through artifacts, photos, and documents, the exhibit tells the stories of more than 100 Wayne County men and women who served their country in conflicts from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam. You will meet 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, Sgt. James Ross, a combat medic with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam, and many others.
Three pop-up exhibits will also be on view through May 6. The historical society has partnered with the Wooster-Orrville chapter of the NAACP to produce The African-American Community in Wayne County. A second exhibit displays Wayne County Homes Painted by Wayne County Artists, while the third exhibit features vintage children’s clothing from the society’s collection.
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.
