Ohio History Connection

Ohio History Connection
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Name	Ohio History Connection
Formation	1885
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	Columbus, Ohio
Leader title	President and CEO
Leader name	Sharla Smith
Former name	Ohio Historical Society

Ohio History Connection The Ohio History Connection is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of Ohio. Founded in 1885 as the Ohio Historical Society, it operates museums, manages historic sites, maintains archives and artifact collections, and provides educational programming across the state including in Columbus, Ohio, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Chillicothe. The organization collaborates with universities, libraries, municipal agencies, and tribal nations to document topics ranging from Native American cultures and the Underground Railroad to industrial heritage and political history of figures such as William Tecumseh Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant, and John Glenn.

History and Development

The organization was chartered in 1885 as the Ohio Historical Society by legislators in Columbus, Ohio and early leaders included historians connected to Oberlin College, Ohio State University, and private collectors from Cleveland. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries it amassed collections through networks linked to the Smithsonian Institution and state government offices, acquiring artifacts related to the Treaty of Greenville era and to families involved in the Tecumseh campaigns. During the New Deal era the institution expanded under programs connected to the Works Progress Administration and collaborated with the Library of Congress on oral history projects. The mid-20th century saw growth of historic house museums similar to those run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and in 2014 the organization adopted the name it uses today to reflect broader statewide activities.

Mission and Programs

The organization's mission emphasizes stewardship of Ohio’s material culture and documentary heritage, promoting access to collections tied to events such as the Wright brothers’ flight history in Dayton, Ohio and the industrial narratives of Akron and Youngstown. Programs include historic preservation grants akin to awards given by the National Endowment for the Humanities, conservation efforts paralleling practices at the Library and Archives of Canada, and community-based projects documenting the legacies of Shaker settlements and Abolitionism. It runs cultural initiatives that intersect with commemoration practices for figures like Eleanor Roosevelt and Harriet Beecher Stowe, and partners with tribal governments to interpret pre-contact and post-contact Miami people and Shawnee histories.

Museums and Historic Sites

The organization administers a network of museums and historic sites that span eras and regions, including properties in Marietta, Ohio, Zanesville, and the state capital complex in Columbus, Ohio. Sites interpret topics from pioneer settlement at places similar to Grapevine Village models to military histories connected to Fort Meigs and Fort Ancient. Museum exhibits address aviation heritage associated with Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, transportation narratives like those of the Erie Canal and Ohio C&O Canal, and social histories linked to Jacob Riis-era reform movements and Progressive Era municipal developments. The institution also preserves historic homes once occupied by political leaders such as William McKinley and cultural figures comparable to Toni Morrison-era commemorations.

Collections and Archives

Holdings include artifact collections, manuscript repositories, photographs, maps, and oral histories documenting topics from the Miami and Erie Canal to 20th-century labor struggles in Cleveland and Toledo. Archival strengths encompass records related to the Underground Railroad, correspondence tied to James A. Garfield and Salmon P. Chase, industrial documentation from companies like those of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company origins in Akron, and aviation materials linked to the Wright brothers. The archives collaborate with academic programs at Ohio State University, digital preservation initiatives similar to those at the Digital Public Library of America, and statewide cataloging projects modeled on the National Archives and Records Administration systems.

Education and Outreach

Educational programming serves K–12 audiences, higher education, and lifelong learners through curricula aligned with state standards and partnerships with institutions such as Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati. Outreach includes traveling exhibits comparable to those circulated by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, teacher workshops inspired by practices at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and community oral-history projects documenting migration patterns tied to the Great Migration (African American) and industrial decline in Youngstown. Public lectures, festivals, and commemorative events engage with anniversaries of the Civil War, the Prohibition era, and regional milestones like the founding of Marietta, Ohio.

Governance and Funding

Governance is by a board of trustees drawn from civic leaders, academics, preservationists, and corporate representatives similar to boards at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Historical Association. Funding sources combine state appropriations, private philanthropy from foundations resembling the Ohio Humanities Council and the Kresge Foundation, membership dues, admission revenue from sites, and competitive grants from federal agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The organization also administers preservation easements and accepts conservation easement donations from landowners in regions like Appalachian Ohio.

Category:History of Ohio Category:Museums in Ohio