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| Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society |
| Type | Historical society |
| Founded | 1885 |
| Headquarters | Columbus, Ohio |
| Region served | Ohio |
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society is a state-wide organization dedicated to preserving Ohio's archaeological and historical heritage. Founded in the late 19th century, the Society has engaged with institutions such as the Ohio History Connection, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Library of Congress to marshal collections, support fieldwork, and publish scholarship. It has collaborated with universities, museums, and federal agencies including Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati, and the National Park Service on stewardship and interpretation.
The Society emerged amid civic movements that included figures linked to Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley, and contemporaries in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. Early leadership drew on networks tied to the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and regional antiquarian groups in Cleveland, Dayton, and Toledo. The organization participated in major exhibitions alongside the World's Columbian Exposition and later collaborated with the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s. Notable partnerships included exchanges with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the American Antiquarian Society.
The Society's mission aligns with partners like the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Association for State and Local History to document sites ranging from Adena culture mounds to Shaker villages. Activities encompass surveys similar to those sponsored by the Historic American Buildings Survey, archaeological excavations comparable to projects undertaken by the Carnegie Institution for Science, and advocacy efforts paralleling the work of the National Historic Preservation Act proponents. The Society has liaised with tribes including the Shawnee, Miami (tribe), and Wyandot to ensure culturally informed stewardship.
Its holdings include artifacts comparable to the assemblages housed at the Cincinnati Museum Center, manuscripts like those in the Western Reserve Historical Society, photographs akin to collections at the Newberry Library, and maps paralleling holdings in the David Rumsey Map Collection. The archives contain materials related to figures such as Thomas Worthington, Salmon P. Chase, Ely Parker, and organizations like the Ohio Penitentiary and the B&O Railroad. The Society's curatorial practice follows standards exemplified by the American Alliance of Museums and cooperates with repositories including the Ohio History Connection, the Ohioana Library Association, and the Cuyahoga County Public Library.
The Society has produced journals and monographs that join the scholarly corpus alongside the Journal of American Archaeology, the Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, and the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly. It has supported authors who have published on topics ranging from Hopewell tradition earthworks to antebellum biographies of Ethan Allen Brown and studies of the Erie Canal. Research partnerships included faculty from Miami University, Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, and Wright State University, and collaborations with federal scholars from the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service.
The Society has administered or partnered with sites such as reconstructed villages like Fort Ancient (Ohio), historic homes akin to Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, industrial sites similar to the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, and cultural landscapes like the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in comparative dialogue. It has worked with municipal museums in Akron, Youngstown, and Canton as well as national sites including Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and units of the National Park Service. Exhibits have displayed objects comparable to those in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and interpretive strategies used by the American Museum of Natural History.
Educational programming has included school curricula modeled on resources from the National Endowment for the Humanities, teacher workshops resembling those sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, public lectures featuring scholars from Harvard University, Yale University, and Princeton University, and community archaeology projects akin to those pursued by the Archaeological Institute of America. Outreach has connected with tribal education programs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and with statewide initiatives by the Ohio Department of Education.
Governance follows nonprofit structures observed at institutions such as the American Historical Association and is overseen by a board drawn from legal, academic, and business leaders from Columbus, Ohio, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. Funding has come from state appropriations resembling grants administered by the National Endowment for the Arts, private foundations similar to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, membership dues, corporate sponsors including regional utilities and railroads like the Norfolk Southern Railway, and philanthropy from families comparable to the Rockefeller family and the Ford Foundation.