Gruesome But Truesome Opens Sept. 15

Absalom Death
 

For more than 50 years this picture of the first mayor of Franklin, Ohio was in storage at the Ohio Historical Society. He was part of the original Warren County Museum collection that had resided at Glendower Historic Mansion and had been put in storage around 1959.

Can you believe that a man whose last name is Death would have such a Dickensian portrait made of himself. Learn all about him and many other Gruesome But Truesome things when the Gruesome But Truesome exhibit opens at the Warren County History Center on September 15, 2012.

Summer Interns are Back to School

Our Summer Interns from Springboro High School
Left to Right, Nicolette Dahdah, Brittney Elliott and Stephanie Rogers

Three students from Springboro High School spent the summer with us as research interns.  They completed a walking tour project which includes three separate tours of Lebanon.  Copies are available for $2.00 each at the Warren County History Center and Museum, 105 S. Broadway, Lebanon, OH. 

More Gruesome But True

This is a memorial picture. It remembers eleven people who died. I forget the details, but Lynley will have all the info in the exhibit.

Assistant Curator/Archivist Lynley Dunham is hard at work on the Gruesome But True exhibit. It's not open yet, but should be ready by the second week in September.

Lynley is a Dayton native and not that familiar with the many details of Warren County's history. She has been living in the vault - sort of - looking for great items for the Gruesome But True exhibit - a special feature of the Gruesome But True Tour.  Everyday she finds something really neat and is just thrilled. It is like watching a kid at Christmas!

I have no idea why this child's tombstone is in the museum, but since she died in 1847 she was probably from the cemetery that used to be on West Main across from the Pioneer Cemetery and  is currently a car dealership.  It was difficult to survive childhood and little Mary Morris didn't make it to age five.



I believe these were the shackles used to confine the first man every hung for murder in Warren County.

Gruesome but True

One of our favorite self guided tours at the museum is Gruesome But True. This is John Zimkus' brain child but Assistant Curator Lynley Dunham has really gotten into the spirit of the tour and is working up a special "gruesome but true" exhibit on the second floor gallery. She has some really fun things on display - like  a salesman's sample coffin complete with drain board, a death mask attributed to Napoleon and a piece of Major Andre's coffin. 

This is all in preparation for Assistant Curator Jessica Threes' exhibit of a newly donated Disney collection from The Nightmare Before Christmas movie.  We received a donation of a complete collection of Nightmare collectibles. It's very cool.

Watch for more information on this new exhibit at the Warren County History Center, 105 S. Broadway. Opens the second week in September.