Museums / Historic Sites / Buildings

Introducing the Guernsey County Historical Society’s Online Photo Collection

/ jcshively / 1 Comment

For some time the men and woman at the museum have been working hard to scan and preserve thousands of great historical photos. Tonight we are finally giving you all a chance to look at our progress. Flickr is a site that allows users to carry a very large amount of high definition pictures–1 terabyte to be exact–so many museums with similar projects are also using Flickr as a resource for holding their photo’s. We have decided to create a Flickr account to store our collection and now we would like you all to know where to find it.

We will be adding many more local historical photos soon, and documenting the ones that are there now more fully as time goes on. The reason the Flickr site is being released now,  is that the Civil War letters on the site are meant to accompany the July edition of Now & Then Magazine, which has now been published. Please note the Collection is a work in progress. Be sure to pick up a copy of the local magazine “Now and Then,” and check out the awesome photo’s of our Civil War letters!😀

You can check out our great collection on Flickr by clicking here.

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A Screenshot of the Photo Collection

*”Now and Then” is a free magazine that’s distributed at many business locations around Cambridge and Guernsey County. It’s printed by the Jeffersonians parent company, and they have copies. It’s also at SEORMC, most banks, Riesbeck’s, Circle K, Jamboree, various gas stations, and Cambridge News. Total there are over 100 locations in Guernsey and the surrounding counties. People snap up the free copies quickly, so it’s often hard to find by mid-month, so get yours quickly!

We are now the”Official” Website of the Guernsey County Historical Society and Museum

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Sometime ago I decided to create and manage a website that would make Guernsey County History more accessible to the great citizens of our county. It was and still is my hope, that sharing the rich history of our area, will change some peoples mind about our community. It is true, we have a lower median income then the national average; it is true we have a higher unemployment rate, and some of area’s infrastructure is in bad shape.
However, it is also true we live in genuinely American towns that go back as far as the administration of Thomas Jefferson. Our communities forefathers fought alongside and for the nations forefathers in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. The National Road was established by their children and their peers and it brought many of our ancestors here from all over the world. They found an opportunity here during the Industrial Revolution and we should all be thankful for the great communities they left behind for us to enjoy.
We have always had citizens here that have fought long and hard for humanity even when it was against the law. Many slaves were brought here, hidden, sheltered, and sent on to safer places as a part of the famous underground railroad. Many more joined the good guys and fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. Our ancestors and grandparents signed up and fought evil in World War I and World War II. Some of our fathers, uncles, and brothers went off to Vietnam, and some of our children more recently, to the Middle East. Our county is filled with exceptional people who want to preserve our great history and bring our community into the 21st Century at the same time. We should be proud of how beautiful our downtown and countryside has become. Many comparable communities have not been so lucky to have such dedicated individuals and they have suffered much more then ourselves as a result.

I am proud to say today that the Facebook page I created to promote the website has been merged with the Historical Societies. Since becoming a member of the society, I have realized by speaking with other great men and women, the potential of my own small contribution. So the website that I will continue to innovate and manage for the foreseeable future, will be done exclusively for the society and I am proud to make it–with the great help my fellow historical society tech guys like David Thompson–the “Official Website of the Guernsey County Historical Society and Museum.” On the surface, this may not seem like a big deal to some people. What does it represent really? It is just a title? Right? Well, not really. I think it is more. It is my hope, that this website will be a small foundation on which many generations beyond ours can use and build upon to tell our children and their children why being a citizen of Guernsey County is something we should all be proud of.

If you’re interested in writing and publishing a blog, an essay, a photo collection or anything else regarding Guernsey County History you would like to share with the community please do not by shy. You can contact us through the Facebook page and let us know, you’ll receive full credit for anything you share. 🙂 

Museums / Historic Sites / Buildings (Click highlighted Titles to link to websites)

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Guernsey County Historic Museum

218 N. 8th St. in Cambridge, Ohio 43725

Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday from 12 Noon to 3 PM April thru December.

Byesville Historic Museum

236 Main St, Byesville, OH 43723

(740) 685-2619

Byesville Scenic Railway

100 Tolliver Trail, Byesville, Ohio 43723

I.O.O.F. Building (International Order of Odd Fellows)

622 Wheeling Avenue, Cambridge, Ohio 43725

The historical I.O.O.F. Temple was built in 1896 on the site of the Tingle Tavern. In this tavern the first government of Guernsey Co. was organized 1810. Today it is the site of Pavlovs Music store. They are in the process of restoring the great building.

If anyone is aware of other sites to add to this list, please message me on Facebook here.