Museum Displays
Please click on linked images to view a larger version.
SEE THE SUB-SECTION AT THE END OF THIS SECTION CONTAINING IMAGES OF SOME OF THE MUSEUM’S COLLECTABLES COLLECTIONS.
First Level:
The lower floor of the museum contains exhibits ranging from the Ordovician period to the 19th century.
The prehistoric artifacts located on this level date back to 500 million years ago, including Indian relics from 10,000 B.C.
The farming equipment room displays hundreds of tools and other equipment necessary for early settlers to succeed.
In addition, you will find implements used by women to perform their tasks. Gathering together to work was also a time to socialize.
The Butterworth Cabin, a country school and a common church show typical rural settings in early Warren County.
The school has McGuffey readers and the Butterworth Cabin was once an important stop on the Underground Railroad.
One will also find our transportation exhibit on this level. Included are early carriages, a horse-drawn mail hack, sleighs and an award-winning 1908 Buick.
THE MAIN FLOOR: THE VILLAGE GREEN
When you enter the museum, you encounter the Village Green and immediately take a step back into another time. Small storefronts line the sides of this exhibit displaying artifacts, both large and small, in a typical Warren County community setting of yesterday.
These shops display thousands of items from past everyday life. Objects like eyeglasses, baby shoes, kitchen utensils, silverware, old firearms, picture frames, cameras, maps, pottery, boots, clothing and much, much more. These precious items alone would be reason enough to visit, but the real benefit of this exhibit is the comforting memories it evokes for each visitor.
The toy store displays many dolls and stuffed animals for children of all ages. The general store is central with a large clock on top. Inside the post office you will find old post office boxes, holiday cards and postcards.
Throughout the museum, we display a fine collection of paintings by Warren County Quaker artist, Marcus Mote, and many others.
SECOND FLOOR:
There is a grand collection of artifacts on the second floor of the museum. The roofs of the Village Green buildings hold just a few of the exhibits.
Musical instruments and furniture are found, along with art-adorned wall.
A large exhibit is the Russel Wright pottery collection. Wright paved the way for plasticware when he created new sets of dishware in the ’40s and ’50s.
There is an entire wing dedicated to the Empire period in the 1830s. The bedrooms house antique beds, dressers and toys. Bibles and giant wood chests are also exhibited.The sitting room has a beautiful old piano, as well as stylish chairs and sofas. These were a people of luxury and class whose revolutionary ideas in decor paved the way for many new styles of interior design.
SAMPLES OF THE MUSEUM’S DISPLAYS
SAMPLES OF ANTIQUE POST CARDS AND OTHER COLLECTIBLES FROM THE MUSEUM’S COLLECTIONS
Until the Industrial Revolution made possible the mass production of cards, Valentines were original creations.
A passion in Victorian times was the Valentine in postcard form. Their golden age, from 1898-1918, saw endless designs, many the work of well-known illustrators such as Kate Greenaway and Rose O’Neill.
Hallmark first offered Valentines in 1913, but when World War I commenced, production of their cards virtually ended.
During the 1920s flat Valentines were produced only in small quantities. The 1930s saw the advent of folded cards. The Valentines produced in the 1940s reflected the war years, and many were intended for recipients overseas.
In the 1950s the studio card with a modern graphic look appeared, and then in the 1960s traditional styles with lace, jewels and red satin hearts once again became popular, although the ensuing years have seen the emergence of many new and contemporary looks and verse styles, including musical cards.
The U.S. Postal Service now handles over one billion Valentine cards each year, making this holiday the second largest for sending a greeting card.
THE TERM “PENNY-DREADFULS” IN GREAT BRITAIN IN THE 1800s WAS ALSO USED TO REFER TO THE CHEAPLY PRODUCED SERIALIZED ADVENTURE FICTION WORKS THAT WERE ISSUED IN SECTIONS(CHAPTERS) ON A WEEKLY BASIS. THEY WERE OFTEN SENSATIONAL AND LURID, AND WERE HIGHLY POPULAR.
