Allen County Museum to host Ohio presidents exhibit

LIMA — The Allen County Museum has received $50,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its upcoming Ohio presidents exhibit, set to debut June 25.

The exhibit chronicles the lesser-known histories of former U.S. Presidents William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding, an 80-year history of Ohio presidents.

“This exhibition is the first of its kind for the Allen County Museum,” Director Amy Craft said in a press release on Monday. “We are really excited to have the exhibit in Lima and to have support from the National Endowment for Humanities. Ohio has a rich history relating to the U.S. presidency and it is something worth sharing locally and with all Ohioans.”

The Allen County Museum is the final venue to host the exhibit, which originated in Lancaster.

The exhibit documents Ohio’s political influence from 1804 to 1920, including contributions made by the eight former presidents that aren’t typically covered in history books.

Benjamin and Caroline Harrison were the first U.S. president and first lady to display a Christmas tree in the White House, for example, while Rutherford B. Hayes and First Lady Lucy Web Hayes started the annual Easter egg roll on the White House lawn.

“Ohio was really at the center of American culture and American politics for those 80 years,” Stephen George, senior advisor to the CEO of the Ohio History Connection, said in the press release. “When you study each of these presidents, you get an idea as to where the country was at a given time.”

Ohio Presidents: Surprising Legacies will be on display June 25 through Oct. 30. A curator’s talk with guest curator Dr. Christine Fowler Shearer will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 25, which will also be open to the public.