THE RICHLAND
COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The Richland County Historical Society
was organized in
1898, and has accomplished much during
the five years of its
exisitence. A public meeting is held in
June of each year. The
first annual meeting was held in June,
1899, and was addressed
by local speakers. The meeting of June,
1900, was addressed by
the Hon. Rush R. Sloane, president of
the Firelands Historical
Society, and others. At this meeting the
late Hon. John Sher-
man gave a talk to his old neighbors.
This was Mr. Sherman's
last appearance at a public meeting. He
died four months later.
At the annual meeting of 1901, the Hon. E. O. Randall, secre-
tary of the Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Society, was the
principal speaker, who delivered an
address upon "Tecumseh,"
and Mrs. Ida Eckert Lawrence read her
poem, "Launching the
Ship." The meeting closed with a
banquet. The annual meet-
ing of 1902, was
addressed by Judge A. W. Patrick, of New
Philadelphia, and the Rev. E. J. Craft,
of Massillon, and Miss
Sade E. Baughman gave an original poem
on the life and char-
acter of the pioneers. The guests were
entertained at the hotel
Southern. At the meeting in June, 1903, Mrs. Marion
Douglass
presented a paper on the "American
Soldier."
Gen. R. Brinkerhoff, president of the
Ohio Archaeological
and Historical Society, is also
president of the Richland county
society; the Hon. M. B. Bushnell is
vice-president; Hon. W. S.
Cappeller is treasurer and Mr. A. J.
Baughman is secretary. Mr.
Baughman has published several
historical works. He is a
newspaper man, and has just completed in
the Mansfield News
an historical serial of fifty chapters.
Within the past year the society secured
photographs of
1,194 of the early settlers of the
county. These pictures were
taken by a local photographer in 1876,
as an advertising scheme
for the Centennial year. He offered to
take a picture free for
every person who had attained the age of
60 years and had been
a resident of the county 50 years. The
Historical Society pur-
chased the collection, which is,
perhaps, the only one of the kind
in the state. The youngest person
represented, if still living, is
now eighty-seven years old. (90)