Allen County Museum and Historical Society . . .
"The mission of
the Allen
County Museum and
Allen County Historical Society is to provide a meaningful
representation of the history of Allen County, Ohio and
surrounding region through visual displays and written
educational materials of interest and significance to scholars
and the general public." Hours of operation are 1:00 to
5:00 P.M. every day except Monday and national holidays.
620
West Market Street
Lima, Ohio 45801
Phone:
419-222-9426
Fax:
419-222-0649
e-mail: acmuseum@wcoil.com
 The
Allen County Museum and the Allen County Historical
Society are two entities. The Museum, a county owned and
staffed public building, houses the headquarters and
collections of the Historical Society. In addition, it
contains an auditorium available for rental by individuals and
organizations for special meetings, lectures, recitals, and
exhibitions. The Museum is an educational establishment
operated for the community's betterment, and open regularly to
the public.
The Museum originally opened in 1908 with
space supplied in Memorial Hall and moved to its present site
on West Market Street in 1956. In 1976 an addition was built
by the county and dedicated as the James A. MacDonell Museum
Wing.
Displays within the Allen County Museum
show why Lima was once known as the "Oil capital of the
world," as well as how the locomotive industry thrived in
and influenced this region.
- A comprehensive prehistoric and
historic Native American collection
- Pioneer room settings
- Turn of the century country store,
doctor's office, and barber shop
- Antique firearms
- An extensive assemblage of vehicles,
such as: an 1830 covered wagon, a carriage, a sleigh, a
horse-drawn hearse, bicycles, tricycles, velocipedes,
motorcycles, a 1909 Locomobile in mint condition, a World
War I Liberty truck, and electric car
- A steam and electric railroad
collection including a scale model considered one of the
finest in the country
- Fire fighting equipment
- An entire room devoted to minerals
- Fossils, especially of Western Ohio
- Rare glass and china
- Buttons
- Old musical instruments including a
restored page theater pipe organ
- "Noah's Ark" - a 1901
mechanized exhibit
- An oriental room which includes a rare,
gold oriental household shrine
- The Faurot Opera House: A mechanized
exhibit describing Lima's grandest building in 1882, the
"finest opera house between Boston and Denver"
- And much, much more!
The Allen County Museum is accredited by
the American Association of Museums and is one of the finest
county museums in the Country. Hours of operation are 1:00 to
5:00 P.M. every day except Monday and national holidays.
Volunteer guides are on duty every afternoon and also at other
hours for prearranged tours.
|
