Our Organization's Roots

The Western Reserve Historical Society’s origins are part of a very American approach to the preservation of history and cultural heritage. In the years immediately after the creation of the United States, private individuals took up the task of telling and preserving the story of the Revolution and the establishment of the new nation. They did so by writing histories, preparing published editions of original documents and, importantly, by collecting documents and other materials pertinent to the history of the colonies and the new United States. Whereas in Europe the State served as custodian of the past and, indeed of culture, the trend in the new United States was distinctly private. Interestingly, it was not until 1934 (after many years of lobbying by historians) that the United States established the National Archives.

By the turn of the eighteenth century people interested in national and regional history began to come together and form “historical societies.” The first was established in Massachusetts in 1791, another in Connecticut in 1799 and a third in New York in 1804. By the 1820s the movement had crossed the Appalachians with the establishment of historical societies in Tennessee, Michigan, and Illinois. By the end of the Civil War over 120 such agencies had been created. Not all, by far, endured, but those that did include renowned institutions such as the American Antiquarian Society, the Chicago History Museum, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Each, as it evolved, developed collections of published and archival material and objects pertinent to local, regional and national history. Often such societies published reports and historical works that remain invaluable this day.

The creation of the Western Reserve Historical Society in 1867 was a part of this trend. However, the Society’s roots go back even further. Cleveland, like many new and growing communities in the United States, sought early on to create institutions that would attest to its interest in education and culture. As early as 1811, sixteen of the eighteen families in the community joined to create the Cleveland Library Association. It would not endure, but a successor, established in 1848 did. The new library association, a private body, emphasized the collection of books, among which were works that related to the history of the Western Reserve region and Cleveland. On May 28, 1867, a special historical department, then called the Western Reserve and Northern Ohio Historical Society, was created as a part of the Cleveland Library Association.

Although it is easy to pinpoint the date of establishment for the Western Reserve Historical Society it is more difficult, and a bit speculative to determine why it came into being exactly when it did. The most suitable answer for this is the fact that Cleveland had undergone and was undergoing enormous change in the 1860s. Although the 1850s had seen growth in the city and region, the Civil War catalyzed that growth. Historian Crisfield Johnson noted, “…the war found Cleveland a commercial city and left it a manufacturing city…” Its population increased from 43,417 in 1860 to nearly 68,000 in 1866. Factories, smoke, noise, expansion, and the arrival of thousands of new residents (many of whom were immigrants) were rapidly changing the landscape and habits of an earlier and different Cleveland. Those who founded the Western Reserve Historical Society undoubtedly realized that the past was receding more rapidly than ever before. They also knew that those who had witnessed the founding of the city and region and who had participated in its early growth were growing old and dying. It was, therefore, a good time to focus on the preservation of the past.

Buildings

1867
The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) was founded and located on the third floor of the Society for Savings building on Monumental Square (now Public Square).

1898
WRHS moved to the corner of Euclid Ave­nue and East 107th and joined the growing cultural and educational center in what would eventually be called University Circle.

1936
The Garfield family donated the former home, and its contents, of James A. Garfield in Mentor to be main­tained as a memorial to the late President and Mrs. Garfield.

1938
WRHS purchased the Price McKinney residence (now the Hay-McKinney House) on East Boulevard in University Circle to house the WRHS Museum.

1940
WRHS exchanged its building on Euclid Avenue for the residence (now the Bingham-Hanna House) of Mrs. Leonard C. Hanna on East Boulevard, adjacent to the Hay-McKinney House, to house its Library.

1948
Shandy Hall, the pioneer home of Colonel Robert Harper located near Unionville, was donated to WRHS by the David Z. Norton family.

1957
The Jonathan Hale Homestead (now Hale Farm & Village) in Bath Township, given to WRHS through the bequest of Clara Belle Ritchie, opened to the public in September 1958.

1959
The Norton Central Addition, which connected the Hay-McKinney House to the Bingham-Hanna House along East Boulevard, was completed and opened.

1961
The first residence, the Jagger House, was moved to the site of the Western Reserve Village at Hale Farm & Village.

1965
The Frederick C. Crawford Auto Aviation Museum of WRHS opened to the public.

1973
The Mary Ann Sears Swetland Memorial Meetinghouse, a fine example of Greek Revival architecture, moved from Streetsboro to the Hale Farm & Village, was dedicated.

1978
Loghurst, the oldest log house in Ohio, ca. 1803, located in Canfield, was donated to WRHS by Josephine Kyle.

1984
The new Library Building, originally free-standing behind the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum on Magnolia Drive, opened.

1986
A section of the Norton Central Addition was converted into storage and exhibition space for the costume collection and was named the Chisholm Halle Costume Wing.

1993
The Reinberger Entrance and Gallery, connecting the Library to the Crawford Museum, opened.

The Thomas J. Lester Wing of the Crawford Museum opened.

Events

1881
After the funeral ceremonies on Public Square and in Lake View Cemetery, memorials, wreaths, and portraits of assassinated President James A. Garfield were given to WRHS.

1892
WRHS formally separated from the Cleveland Library Association and a new state charter incorporating it as an indepen­dent not-for-profit organization was adopted.

The campaign to raise money to purchase its building on Public Square was initiated by a $10,000 gift from John D. Rockefeller and $5,000 from Jeptha Homer Wade II.

1898
Moving to expanded facilities at 107th & Euclid permitted growth of library and museum collections and more frequent public lectures.

1911
William P. Palmer officially donated his extensive Civil War Collection, one of the largest in private hands at that time.

1912
The first classes of Cleveland schoolchildren were invited to tour the WRHS Museum and, by 1928, more than three hundred school classes visited the Muse­um each year.

1925
The WRHS costume collection began with the donation of the wedding dress worn by the wife of Cleveland’s first mayor, John Willey.

1929
The Great Depression brought a halt to WRHS growth and only through the leadership and generosity of Lawrence H. Norton did WRHS survive the 1930s.

1940
One of the original versions of the “Spirit of ‘76” painting by Archibald Willard was accessioned by the WRHS Museum.

1942
The Women’s Advisory Council (now the Museum Advisory Council) was created.

1947
The Cleveland Board of Education assigned a fulltime teacher to WRHS to work with Cleveland Public School classes.

1953
WRHS celebrated the State of Ohio’s Sesquicentennial with a year-long series of lectures, educational programs, and exhibits.

The Bingham Doll House, built for Charles W. Bingham’s daughters, was presented to WRHS by Mrs. Elizabeth Blossom and Mrs. Frances Payne Bolton.

1963
The TRW Auto-Aviation collection, formerly known at the Thompson Products Auto Album and Aviation Museum, was presented to WRHS.

1965
Robert Manry accomplished a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the Tinkerbelle, a 13.5 foot sloop that he formally presented to WRHS in 1967.

1970
The Black History Archives was established, one of the first centers for African American scholarship in the U.S.

1974
WRHS was selected to host the national conference celebrating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Shakers in America because it possessed the Wallace H. Cathcart Shaker Collection, the finest in the world.

1976
The Bicentennial Conference on American Genealogy, the second national event ever held, was hosted by WRHS in Cleveland.

1978
The Concours d’Elegance, one of the first national exquisite collector car events, was hosted by WRHS at Hawken School.

1987
WRHS presented “Signatures for Liberty,” an exhibition showcasing one of the four surviving handwritten copies of the Magna Carta and other historic documents of freedom.

1991
The “Showplace of America” exhibit, accompanied by a well-researched book, told the story of famous old Euclid Avenue, Cleveland’s Millionaires’ Row, judged “one of the most beautiful streets in the world.”

2005
The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage opened, highlighted by an exhibition of local Jewish history based on collections and research provided by WRHS.

2007
WRHS hosted “Diana -- a Celebration” a world touring exhibition, attended by more than 80,000 visitors in a four month span.

Presidents