Ragersville Historical Society

Erb began collecting Coleman products more than 32 years ago.

“There was a need to service Coleman lanterns, which the Amish use, along with fishermen,” said Erb. “They would bring them to me to be repaired or they had an old lamp or lantern and would ask me if I wanted it,” Erb said. “I still repair the lanterns and lamps.”

That was how Erb’s collection got started.

There are two floors in the 30 by 60-foot museum, featuring more than 3,000 Coleman items, including actual gas cooking stoves, ice chests, irons, and advertising.

Among the items in the museum are Coleman hot plates, an electric brew (coffee pot), a taste oven and irons, as well as all types of Coleman lamps and lanterns.

Admission: $6.00 per person

Hours:
M-W: By appointment only
Th-S: 9:00am-5:00pm
Sunday: Closed

The Sugarcreek Brick Wall Sculpture was commissioned by the Community Arts Council in Sugarcreek and depits the history of Sugarcreek and surrounding communities such as Baltic, Dundee and Ragersville. Sculptor Sherry Crilow began carving in 2012 and each panel took approximately 2-3 weeks. The bricks were layed by Johnny Mullet of Cherry Ridge Masons.

The Brick Wall Sculpture is composed of 13 panels, seven of which are 5×8′ and six are 5×7′.

More information can be found on their website at http://www.brickwallsculpture.com/

Featured on the cover of the Guinness Book of World Records in 1977, the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock made quite the journey before ending up in Sugarcreek. In the early 70s, the family who owned the Alpine Alpa Restaurant in Wilmot, Ohio, commissioned the clock to be built. When the restaurant closed in 2009, the clock was purchased and restored and found its new home on the square in downtown Sugarcreek. Over 23 feet tall and 24 feet wide, the Sugarcreek clock is all clock, with innards that are a maze of mechanical parts and 1972 transistor technology. Every-half-hour, a cuckoo bird pops out and then you hear Swiss polka music playing as the band emerges and the couple dances.

Former town hall for the Village of Port Washington. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

TEMPORARILY CLOSED

Welcome to an authentic tavern and inn, which was a resting place on the Ohio and Erie Canal. Crafted from locally timbered black walnut, the tavern was built in 1841, and retains many of the features of the original inn. You won’t want to miss the kitchen, which features a large fireplace complete with cast iron utensils, where all the meals for the tavern were cooked. Be sure to see the hiding place, which was used when the house was a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Stroll through the parlor and the living room, where you can enjoy a collection of dresses from the eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. Don’t miss our Woody Hayes and Cy Young memorabilia, along with our collection of military artifacts.

The monument beside the Temperance Tavern Museum is dedicated to Freeman Davis, a local man who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War.

Located inside a 1915 building which was formerly Lell Shumaker’s Ford dealership and later the Herco factory, is the Olde Main Street Museum and Social Center, located at 213 West Canal Street in Newcomers-town. The replica of an early 1900’s village holds twenty-three storefronts, including a jail,a grocery, a bank, the Eureka Hardware, and Sam Douglass’s saloon, among others. We built a whole village inside a building!

This venue is the location for many events sponsored by the Newcomerstown Historical Society, including such activities as a murder mystery; a visit with a “survivor” of the Titanic; evenings of country music; our Christmas Wonder-land, full of beautifully decorated Christmas trees; a reception honoring the former Heller Brothers factory, which featured a model of the factory, including all the machines; our annual delicious chicken dinner; fashion shows; ladies’ teas; and many more.

TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO CONSTRUCTION

The Uhrichsville Clay Museum shares the incredible story of when Uhrichsville was known as the Clay Capital of the World with over 30 Clay Manufactures. The Museum offers two floors with rare folk art created by clay workers in their spare time, unique pipes and tools, miniature salesmen samples, and much more. Visit the Clay Workers’ Theatre to hear the living history of some of the men who say when clay was king and stop by the Museum gift shop for some one-of-a-kind gift souvenirs.

Gnadenhutten, Ohio’s oldest existing settlement, prospered until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War when the Indians were driven from their homes. In February 1782, they were allowed to return to their village. On March 8, 1782, following a night of hymn singing and prayer, 90 men, women and children were massacred and all of the cabins were set on fire by the Pennsylvania Militia. Today, a museum, mass grave and monument, and two reconstructed log buildings commemorate this tragic event. In 1798, the village was re-established as a white settlement. A 35-foot monument was erected on the grounds of the Historical Park. The museum houses artifacts as well as an extensive arrowhead collection.

The Dennison Depot was the site of a famous WWII Servicemen’s Canteen that served 1.5 million GI’s, and was nicknamed “Dreamsville.” The restored 1873 Pennsylvania Railroad Depot now houses a museum with exhibits that fill the original Women’s Waiting Room, baggage room, ticket office, and Railway Express building.

Displays feature local history such as the baptism of Hollywood Film Star, Clark Gable, the Pennsylvania Railroad Baseball Teams, which George W. Bush’s Great-Grandfather, Samuel Prescott Bush played, a large N-scale model railroad layout depicting the town of Dennison, clay artifacts from when the area was the clay capitol of the county and of course, railroad and canteen artifacts. The Depot stands exactly 100 miles from Columbus and Pittsburgh, and is located specifically at that point because a steam engine could only go 100 miles before requiring water. At its peak, the Dennison Yards were considered to be the most complete and extensive in the country.

In addition to the Museum, the restaurant on site – Lucille’s – is a wonderful 1940’s themed diner with a menu suitable for all ages!

Founded in 1772 as a Moravian mission, the village is reconstructed to appear as it did over 200 years ago. As the Moravian missionaries, led by David Zeisberger, spread education and Christianity throughout the region, the Christian Indian population of Schoenbrunn Village grew. Crops, the tending of livestock, hunting and craftwork in addition to schoolwork and religious teachings made up a day in the life of a Schoenbrunn resident or visitor. David Zeisberger’s grave may also be visited nearby in Goshen on State Route 416. Goshen was a mission village founded after Schoenbrunn. Today, 17 reconstructed log cabins, the original cemetery, and 2 acres of planted fields are available to tour. This site is owned and managed by the Ohio History Connection.

General Visitation Hours (May 31, 2023 through Labor Day)
Wed. – Sat. • 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sun. • 12 – 5 p.m.

September and October – Weekends only
Sat. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sun. 12 – 5 p.m.

November – mid-May – CLOSED

Located nestled in the heart of Sugarcreek, Ohio’s Swiss Village, Collectors Decanters and Steins offers a wide selection of classic and collectible decanters and other unique items. They feature Ohio’s largest decanter museum, with over 3000 unique works of art.

Looking for a historical perspective of the craft? Take a tour through their decanter museum, which features thousands of unique offerings, including a restored (non-functional) bar, circa 1930’s. Admission to the is free with any purchase.

The Baltic Area Historical Society is located in the ground floor of the Baltic State Bank, 101 E Main Street, Baltic, Ohio. It is open to the public on selected weekends as well as during community events. The museum features photos, artifacts, family genealogies, furniture, uniforms and more from Baltic’s treasured past. This family friendly museum is open on selected weekends

The Baltic Area Historical Society was founded in 1999, as a result of the 1998 Sesquicentennial celebration. The goal of the society is to document and preserve local history for future generations.

Located in downtown Sugarcreek, near the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock, the Alpine Hills Museum has three floors of beautifully displayed local history — celebrating Sugarcreek’s Swiss, German and Amish heritage. Ohio Swiss Festival information is also available here.

Admission is free; donations are appreciated! The Museum is open until December 3rd, Monday-Saturday: 10am – 4:00pm.

Hours:  Monday-Saturday 9:30am-5:00pm

Truly a one-of-a-kind place to visit. Along with incredible carvings done by the World’s Master Carver, Ernest “Mooney” Warther, you will enjoy beautiful Swiss gardens, Freida Warther’s Button House of 73,000 buttons, and the Warther Family Home. Warther’s is also home to a 5,000 point arrowhead collection, a working knife shop, and a gift shop featuring the exclusive Warther’s cutlery. Ernest Warther carved steam engines made of ebony and ivory that are considered the World’s finest. The tour also includes an animated replica of the steel mill where Warther once worked, the famous pliers tree and an eight-foot carving of the Lincoln Funeral Train – the largest ivory carving in the world with over 11,000 pieces carved out of solid ivory.

Famous Endings Museum is considered to be one of the largest known collections of its kind – with over 1,500 pieces of memorabilia on display! This collection began in 1996, when John Herzig of Toland-Herzig Funeral Homes was indulging in his autograph collection hobby. In addition to an autographed photo of legendary boxer Joe “the Brown Bomber” Louis, the package he received included a program from the fighter’s 1981 funeral ceremony. That event sparked John’s interest in famous funerals and so began his collection.

Some highlights of his collection includes Abraham Lincoln, Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, Phil Hartman, Dave Thomas, Pat Tillman, Vince Lombardi and more.

Return to the elegance of the late 19th century by visiting the J. E. Reeves Victorian Home and its adjoining Carriage House Museum, located in Dover, Ohio.  This opulent mansion, the former residence of prominent Dover industrialist, Jeremiah E. Reeves,is owned by the Dover Historical Society.

The 17 room Victorian home, topped by a third floor ballroom, has been carefully restored by the Society to its original turn-of-the-century splendor and features the unique treasures of the original furniture and antiques that were the property of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah E. Reeves, arranged as they would have been 100 years ago.  These beautiful family furnishings can be viewed as guests take a guided room by room tour of the home.

The Carriage House Museum, located behind the home, keeps its original purpose by housing an interesting collection of vehicles including the family’s original 1892 carriage, along with the family sleigh, a rare 1922 electric car, and a restored doctor’s buggy.  The upstairs of the Carriage House features an exhibit celebrating Dover’s years as a canal town as well as the town’s rich history.

Take a look into history and enjoy the sights and sounds of years gone by as you experience two of our greatest pastimes, radio and television, from their beginnings. The museum has on display mechanical televisions from the 1920’s and 30’s, a 1939 RCA TV from the New York World’s Fair, Marconi’s first TV from 1938, the first color TV (1954) and many, many more. Our visitors can view many games, toys and comic books relating tot he very early shows of the 1940’s and 50’s, along with props from movies and TV shows. Memorabilia from early Cleveland TV includes Dick Goddard’s first weather gauges and posters of the Gene Carroll show. Relive your memories as you view scenes from various vintage shows.

Admission by appointment. Bus tours are welcome.

Zoar Village was founded in 1817 by a group of German Separatists seeking religious freedom. In 1819, to survive and pay for their land, they formed the Society of Separatists of Zoar, a Christian Communal Society. Due to pressures from the outside world, it disbanded in 1898. Today, visitors can revisit the 19th Century at this German-style village. The historic district abounds with restored private homes, shops, and ten buildings open to tour by the Zoar Community Association through an agreement with the Ohio Historical Connection. Specialty group tours, bus tours, luncheons and dinners in historic buildings available.