REPORT OF COMMITTEES ON HISTORICAL
ACTIVITIES
Dr. Harlow Lindley read the following
report of the
Committee on Historical Activities in
Ohio, which was
filed with the other reports for
publication in the
Quarterly:
REPORT ON HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES IN OHIO
BY HARLOW LINDLEY, Chairman Committee on
Cooperation.
From information at hand it appears that
there are about
forty local, county and regional
historical societies now in exist-
ence in the State of Ohio. Some of them
seem to be nothing
more than organizations on paper. We
have data at hand which
would indicate that at least twenty-five
of the number have a
working organization and are carrying on
some sort of active
historical program.
In order to give the members of the
State Society and the
members of these various groups some
idea of the activities
which are being carried on by these
local organizations, the fol-
lowing report is presented which has
been secured in reply to an
inquiry submitted to all the societies
in the state. This report
does not attempt to give a complete
survey of all the activities
of all historical organizations, but it
is intended to give informa-
tion concerning new organizations, and
special activities during
the past year.
During the year at least four new
historical societies have
been organized: Piqua Historical
Society, The Paulding County
Historical Society, Licking County
Historical Society and the
Belmont County Historical Society.
* * *
The Zoar Historical Society sponsored
the publication of a
brief history of Zoar, prepared by
Howard Sarbaugh, Secretary
of the Society.
(564)
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 565
The Quarterly Bulletin of the History Society of North-
western Ohio, at Toledo, continues to
publish new historical
material which has never been published
before.
The Ashland County Historical Society
has continued with
marked success its programs so arranged
as to arouse the interest
of the people of the various parts of
the county.
The Allen County Historical Society
cooperated with other
agencies in celebrating the centennial
of the establishment of
Lima last September. A marker was
dedicated at the site of the
old Shawnee Indian Council House, south
of Lima.
The Tuscarawas County Historical Society
recently placed
a steel flag pole at the grave of David
Zeisberger in the old
Goshen Cemetery, and the Teachers
Institute of the county fur-
nished a beautiful flag, so from now on
the American Flag
will wave over this great teacher's last
resting place.
The Pioneer Historical Society of
Muskingum County, of
which Mr. E. M. Ayers is President,
reports that they have two
hundred members, paying $1.00 a year
membership fee. The
society meets monthly with a program and
is considered one of
the outstanding civic societies in the
county. The headquarters
of the society is in the Monumental
Building and they have a
large collection of museum material.
They consider their best
asset a complete file of their local
papers since 1833.
The Adams County Historical Society is
working on a plan
to gather accurate information in regard
to the industries of
Adams County. They have had papers
prepared on the tanneries
of the early days and historical
sketches of all the old mills and
factories. They are also making a survey
of all the towns and
town sites that have been laid out in
the county and are gather-
ing historical facts in regard to the
development of education in
the county. They are also erecting
markers along the Zane
Trace.
The Hiram Historical Society,
cooperating with the Hiram
College participated in a Garfield
Centennial Celebration, Novem-
ber 19, 1931. The society
published a booklet entitled "Garfield
of Hiram," in connection with the
event. This booklet is No.
4 of the Hiram Historical Society
Publications and is edited by
566 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Prof. Harold E. Davis, of Hiram College
and Secretary of the
Hiram Historical Society.
Under the auspices of the Greene County
Historical Society
there was dedicated a Brown-Logan-Kenton
monument near State
Road No. 72 between Cedarville and
Jamestown.
The Clark County Historical Society,
through the Secretary,
Mr. A. L. Slager, reports two recent
interesting additions to their
museum collection: A complete full sized
replica of Cyrus Hall
McCormick's first reaping machine in
working order, and a
replica of the lattice type bridge on
the National Road spanning
Mad River west of Springfield, which was
erected in 1837. The
replica is 7½ feet long, made to scale
from the timbers of the
old bridge. The Chamber of Commerce,
High School History
Club and other local organizations are
making regular use of the
society's collections and a number of
the public schools of the
county are availing themselves of its
benefits.
The Licking County Historical Society,
organized in No-
vember, 1931, provides for the
continuation of the work of the
Pioneer Antiquarian Society organized in
1867 by Isaac Smucher
and others. The society proposes to
preserve the mounds of
the county and is fostering a movement
to have the group of
mound enclosures incorporated into a
State Park under the State
Society. The society also proposes to
foster the study of local
history. The society has committees on
Program, History,
Archaeology, Pageants, Exploration and
Pioneers. The chair-
man of the History Committee, Mr. C. P.
Smith, is the co-
author of a new book on Ohio history
entitled "My State--Ohio."
The book is commended to all who are
interested in Ohio his-
tory. Mr. F. A. Woolson is president of
this new historical
society.
One of the newest societies is the
Belmont County Historical
Society organized recently at St.
Clairsville with Mr. Frank H.
Frazier as President. The new society
has a splendid field for
historical activity and the character of
its officers and membership
indicate some excellent work in the
future. They have already
taken steps looking to the organization
of a library and museum.
Report of the Forty-sixth Annual
Meeting 567
During the past year two colleges have
observed Cen-
tennial occasions--Hiram and Denison
University--and Oberlin
College and Wooster College are now
preparing for historical
celebrations this year.
It is quite noticeable the way
communities over the state are
waking up to the opportunities offered
by Centennial occasions
and to the value of the Pageantry as a
means of portraying his-
tory and building community spirit.
The State Historical Society and the
Gnadenhutten His-
torical Society, cooperating, are
working on plans for a memor-
able Sesqui-Centennial Commemoration of
the massacre of the
Christian Indians at Gnadenhutten in
1782. This event will take
place according to present plans on
September 2, 3 and 4, 1932,
in connection with which a Pageant
written and directed by Mr.
O. K. Reames will be presented. Mr.
Reames has already estab-
lished his reputation in Ohio as a
Pageant Master in connection
with pageants at Zanesfield and the
George Rogers Clark Sesqui-
Centennial Celebration Pageant at
Springfield in 1930.
Another new historical activity worthy
of notice, although
not organized primarily to encourage
Ohio history, is the Ohio
College History Teachers Association,
organized at Cleveland,
April 8. At this organization meeting,
the Curator of History
of this Society, was asked to speak on
the related interests of
such an association and the State
Historical Society. No such
organization in the state can help but
be of assistance in our
educational program.
The Committee on Cooperation,
representing the local his-
torical societies of the state, the
educational institution, and this
society, which is appointed by the
President of the Society, is
still actively interested in the best
program possible for further-
ing the interests of Ohio history.
Because of decreased appro-
priations, the committee has not been
able to accomplish as
much as it had hoped to do during the
year, but stands ready
to support as far as possible any worth
while movement.
Chairman Sater announced that the
reading of me-
morials would be the next order of
business. Dr.