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The Belmont County Heritage Museum opened for the 2024 season on April 4 and it was a busy seven months! The year included class field trips, fun events, entertaining and educational programs, and thought-provoking exhibits.
Exhibits covered local history topics such as the Willow Grove Mine disaster (April), a display of Belmont County photographs by members of the Ohio Valley Photography Club (May), the "Glimpses of Glory" about the 11 Civil War generals from Belmont County (June-July), the Mounds, Moon, and Stars exhibit about the Hopewell era mound builders from August 22 through October 19, and St. Clair's Defeat Revisited from October 24 through November 16.
In May, Barnesville Elementary School fourth-grade students toured the museum and courthouse. They learned about county government, the Ohio National Road, and local history. In September, Olney Friends School students visited the Mounds, Moon, and Stars exhibit, and museum curator Cathryn Stanley visited St. Clairsville Elementary School fourth-grade social studies students with the Ohio History Connection's Museum in a Box: Indigenous Wonders.
We partnered with the St. Clairsville Public Library to host two Civil War programs in June. Curtis Kyer discussed St. Clairsville native Colonel James Charlesworth and Judge Ed Sargus detailed the life of Captain Thomas Drummond. James F. Charlesworth was born in and became a prominent St. Clairsville citizen. He was a wounded veteran of the Mexican-American War and Civil War. He held multiple county positions and belonged to several fraternal organizations. Recently, his Civil War presentation sword and his life story were rediscovered. Drummond was mortally wounded at the Battle of Five Forks, Virginia, just eight days before the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. Both programs were very well-attended
In October, the library hosted the Belmont County Legends & Lore program by the Belmont County Spirit Seekers who led a downtown Lantern Walk later that week. Their presentation and the walking tour combined history with spooky tales. The Spirit Seekers were also on hand at the museum with their paranormal investigative equipment during the October Halloween Bash. We also displayed items relating to Victorian mourning practices including period clothing and hair art from the Belmont County Victorian Mansion Museum. We also expanded our Haunted Hills of Belmont County exhibit to include items from the Belmont County Sanitorium and the Belmont Casket Company.
We participated in several St. Clairsville Main Street Small Business group events, including a Cinco De Mayo Block Party in May, Harvest Festival in September, and Holiday Open House in November. The museum was open in September during the Belmont County-wide participation of Ohio History Connection's Ohio Open Doors. As in years past, we opened our doors for the October St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce Halloween Bash. Those events brought hundreds of people into the museum, many of them for the first time.
Organized by the Great Circle Alliance and made possible with funding from Ohio Humanities, “Mounds, Moon, and Stars: The Legacy of Ohio’s Magnificent Earthworks” was exhibited from August 22 through September 28. From the exhibit, people learned more about the visionary Hopewell culture’s astronomy, geometry, engineering, construction, and art skills, and the lasting legacy of the earthworks they created.
In September, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Archaeologist John Boilegh gave a fascinating presentation about the Mound Builder culture as part of the museum's exhibition of Mounds, Moon, and Stars: The Legacy of Ohio's Magnificent Earthworks.
In October, Wheeling author and artist Alan Fitzpatrick talked about his latest book "Vengeance is Mine" which tells the story of Bemino, (Killbuck), a Delaware war captain and medicine man who fought against the English in the French and Indian War. With a handful of warriors, Bemino could out-think, out-maneuver, and out-fight men of the Virginia Regiment, resulting in catastrophic defeats for Washington’s men who unwittingly fell into the well-planned ruses and ambushes.
The final exhibit for the year was St. Clair's Defeat Revisited: A New View of the Conflict. This exhibit introduced viewers to the complex history of General Arthur St. Clair’s Defeat on November 4, 1791, its context, and its aftermath for the nine Tribal Nations who orchestrated this great defeat of the U.S. Military. This exhibit, co-created by Ball State University with 11 Tribal Humanities Scholars, was made possible, in part, by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Telling the Full History Preservation Fund, and the America 250-Ohio Commission.
Before closing for the season, the museum hosted Santa Claus following the St. Clairsville Chamber of Commerce's Light Up Night. This year we added a Santa Letter Writing Station. Chik-fil-A St. Clairsville provided the cookies handed out by special cow "elves." Children had the opportunity to tell Santa their Christmas wishes, and parents had the perfect Christmas photo op.
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