Join us at the Harding Museum, Monday, June 17, at 6:30 for a dinner program about Vintage Base Ball. You'll have a chance to meet John Everett, a member of the Dayton Clodbusters Base Ball Club. Everett will be portraying an 1860’s player and will describe the game of that time period. Dinner will be catered by City BBQ.

Dinner is $25 for adults, $15 for children 12 and under. All proceeds benefit the museum's operations.

Call (937) 746-8295 to reserve your spot by June 10.

Admission to both the Harding Museum and the Log Post Office is free to our visitors, courtesy of our 2019 Admissions Sponsor, WesBanco Bank. Wesbanco has supported us in the past by sponsoring our Holiday Home tour.

We appreciate their support of FAHS and generosity in making the museums financially accessible to all.

The Harding Museum is open on Fridays, 10 to 3, and Saturdays, 11 to 3. The Log Post Office is open on Saturdays, 9 to 1.

Did you know that the first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896 in Greece? And, did you know that two Franklinites, Francis Lane and Albert Tyler, represented the United States on that first team?

Lane's and Tyler's story is part of our summer sports exhibit that opens on Sat., June 15. The exhibit includes photos and memorabilia from some of Franklin’s top athletes. Besides Lane and Tyler, other athletes who will be profiled include Karisa Evans Steed, Frank Lickliter, Bob Timberlake, Luke Kennard, Darrell Hedric, and others, plus exhibits about basketball, baseball, gymnastics, plus recreation -- the parks, Chautauqua, and the fairgrounds.

The photo, donated by Jim Marshall, is of the 1971 seventh and eighth grade football team, and was taken at the old high school.

Stop by on Fridays, 10 to 3 or Saturdays, 11 to 3, to see the exhibit.

It's time for another ghost hunt at the Harding Museum with Parallel Truth Paranormal Investigators!

The cost is $50; spots are limited. Call (937) 746-8295 to register. Investigation hours are 9 p.m to 3:00 a.m. All proceeds benefit FAHS.

PTPI loves to hold events at the Harding Museum because they always detect paranormal activity!

Brendan Erwin, a 2019 graduate of Franklin High School, was the winner of the Franklin Area Historical Society’s Senior Award for Interest in Local History. 

Brendan received $500, a copy of The History of Franklin in the Great Miami Valley, and a one-year membership in the Historical Society. Brendan, the grandson of FAHS members Dan and Lynn Darragh, plans to attend Bowling Green State University.

The Senior Award is funded through the sales of African American Life in Franklin, Ohio, by Eva Louise Polley, and donations to the fund.

The Society recently took a donation of two ledgers that were found inside a desk that had been used at Thirkield's Department Store. The donor’s grandfather had been an employee of the store.

One ledger is dated 1838. Purchase records include the names of John Thirkield and Jonathon Mooney. Thirkield began his business in 1832 and had partnered with Jonathan Mooney in 1835 in Mooney & Thirkield’s. Mooney sold his interest a few years later.

The record in the photo is for a purchase by William Schenck. It's likely that this was the son of Franklin's founder William C. Schenck.

Prices have increased a bit since 1838: Calico was listed at 12 cents/yard and the price for a pair of shoes was 25 cents.

Are you familiar with Amazon Smile?

Amazon Smile donates 0.5% of qualified purchases to a charity of your choice. We hope you will choose FAHS! You must designate Franklin Area Historical Society as your charity and and begin your shopping at smile.amazon.com

Shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/23-7164805 and AmazonSmile donates to FAHS.

We appreciate Clark's Tax Service for their 2019 support.

Thank you to our members and friends who support the Society with their donations!

Thank you to Julie Kellis for her recent donation in support of our Local History Award, and thank you to John Brown for his generosity in paying the alarm fee at the Log Post Office.

2019 is the year for our Holiday Home Tour!

The date is Sunday, Dec. 15, and we already have three homes scheduled as tour stops. We'd love to have 5 or more homes on the tour and include some we've never visited.

If you'd like open your home for this event, please call (937) 746-8295.