Trumbull County, Ohio Treasures: Telling Our Stories

FAIN: PG-271805-20

Trumbull County Historical Society (Warren, OH 44483-4812)
Meghan Reed (Project Director: January 2020 to October 2022)

The hiring of two consultants to undertake planning across ten small and rural institutions and historic sites in northeast Ohio in response to NEH’s “A More Perfect Union” initiative. The consultants would perform assessments and offer training to build capacity at the participating institutions, in anticipation of celebrating the founding of the United States. The lead historical society holds collections that document the history of Trumbull County from the late eighteenth century, while participating institutions maintain materials related to Ohio’s Amish population, an all-black commune, known as the “Trumbull Phalanx” that operated in the mid-nineteenth century, as well as the development of craft and industry in this region.

Trumbull County, Ohio Treasures will transform ten of the county’s small and remote museums from isolated repositories of objects on display to venues that tell the story of the local, state and nationally significant Ohio treasures. This project is a grass-roots effort to increase capacity of small and rural collecting institutions to be prepared with a vision, plan and supporting documents to participate in fundraising efforts and grant writing proposals for implementing local projects for the 250th Anniversary. The Trumbull County Historical Society will partner with ten history-based organizations within Trumbull County to identify 5 items each that shed light on our national identity, purchase supplies to properly organize these collections for future research, provide training by a professional conservator to ensure the items are cared for using best practices in the museum field, and develop plans for exhibits and programs to showcase these items to the public.

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