Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center

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Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center Come see your history! Copy and scanning fees may apply.
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Hours -
Museum: Tuesday - Friday 9-4, Saturday 9-3
Library: Wednesday - Friday 10-4, Saturday 10-3, Open by appointment only - call 937-324-0657 or email [email protected]

Admission to the museum is free, but donations are appreciated! Suggested donations: Adults = $5; Children = $2; Families = $10

The 3rd Floor Fisher Family Research Library and Archives is free to the public. Founded in 1897, for over a century the Clark County Historical Society has collected, preserved and displayed the history of the area. Over the years, the Society has had a number of different locations, but for more than fifteen years they have been proud and honored to have found a beautiful permanent home in downtown Springfield in the old City Hall and Marketplace, which was built in 1890. Today the Heritage Center of Clark County stands tall on the Springfield skyline as the home of Clark County’s heritage, where priceless mementos open a window on many generations of history.

It's time for a WHERE is it Wednesday! Can you identify this historic home?
10/21/2026

It's time for a WHERE is it Wednesday! Can you identify this historic home?

The Springfield Harmony Knights Barbershop Chorus was chartered in 1966 as a chapter of the Society for the Preservation...
10/20/2026

The Springfield Harmony Knights Barbershop Chorus was chartered in 1966 as a chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, which was founded in 1938. The chorus disbanded in the early 2000s and the Heritage Center holds several scrapbooks and other materials documenting the chapter from its founding through its final years. The parent organization is now called the Barbershop Harmony Society, which has admitted women since 2018. A separate women's organization, formerly Sweet Adelines, is now SingUnited International. Between them, quartets and chapter choruses across the country and around the world continue to sing in four-part harmony.

October is American Archives Month, a yearly celebration to highlight the importance of archives and archivists in prese...
10/18/2026

October is American Archives Month, a yearly celebration to highlight the importance of archives and archivists in preserving and sharing history. We're more than mid-way thru the month and almost forgot to share this year's Ohio Archives Month poster with you!

Each October, the Society of Ohio Archivists creates a poster to recognize and celebrate American Archives Month. The 2026 poster theme is "America 250: Unique Ohio" and features historical images submitted by archives throughout the state. Thank you to everyone who submitted photographs, and thanks to those who voted.

Images on the 2026 poster were contributed by Wright State University, University of Akron Archives and Special Collections, Case Western Reserve University, Western Reserve Historical Society, and The Dawes Arboretum.

SOA's Archives Month activity is managed by the Advocacy and Outreach Committee.

It's time for a on new donations! Yesterday we received a collection of materials connected to a local family which in...
10/17/2026

It's time for a on new donations! Yesterday we received a collection of materials connected to a local family which included these gorgeous pattern catalogs that were available at local department stores including Montgomery Ward, the Boston Store, Sears, and Wren's. We love these!

Two weekends ago was the annual Chalkfest, a fantastic downtown event presented in partnership with Project Jericho and ...
10/16/2026

Two weekends ago was the annual Chalkfest, a fantastic downtown event presented in partnership with Project Jericho and the National Trail Parks and Recreation District! The National Road Commons Park was full of incredible chalk art, creativity, and community spirit.

At the park is also this year’s Project-Scare-A-Crow display with the theme is Future Focused! We love seeing everyone's creative creations every year and have fun submitting our own scarecrow to this fall favorite.

You can spot our scarecrow, Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons, down at the park amongst the other futuristic submissions. We think she looks pretty great! Big thanks to our staff members Eliza and Natalie and volunteers Patti, Alexa, and Josiah for helping her come together (also thanks to Un Mundo for letting us reuse some of their coffee bags to build her!)

If you haven’t seen the scarecrows yet, voting is still open until October 27! Don’t miss out!

For the past several weeks, the Heritage Center's windows have been getting a facelift. Crews from QC Painting of Spring...
10/16/2026

For the past several weeks, the Heritage Center's windows have been getting a facelift. Crews from QC Painting of Springfield have worked their way around all three stories of the block-long, 136-year-old building on a lift, scraping, repainting, and repairing roughly 600 windows as needed.

Yesterday’s WHAT is it Wednesday was an artifact that we THOUGHT we had properly identified in our collections. Some of ...
10/15/2026

Yesterday’s WHAT is it Wednesday was an artifact that we THOUGHT we had properly identified in our collections. Some of you guessed that it was some sort of measuring instrument or something used for drafting. It DOES look like some surveyor’s equipment in our collection, so we understand why people thought that!

This item came up recently during our collections inventory project, which has lately focused on our military collection. In 2010 it was inventoried with other items in our military storage room and was identified as a “Gunner’s Level,” or an artillery sight instrument. We haven’t been able to get back to the original donation information for this artifact, so we’re unsure how long ago it was identified as a military-related item, but we can also kind of see how someone came to that conclusion.

Patti, our volunteer working in that area, is an intrepid researcher and she has a knack for figuring out mysteries. SHE realized that this was a different type of tool altogether: a camera accessory. This is a folding winder, used to wind/rewind roll film, made in 1925 by Andre Debrie of France for a Moyeu Parvo 35mm camera.

Andre Victor Leon Clement Debrie was a French manufacturer of cinema cameras, serving as the head of the Debrie company starting in 1919. The cameras they made were popular and in use around the world. We wish we knew more about the story behind WHO locally was tied to this camera…perhaps we’ll find the answer with more digging! In the meantime, now that Patti has properly identified the item, she’s corrected our records and it’s been moved from the room with military artifacts to the storage room that includes cameras and related equipment.

It's time for a WHAT is it Wednesday! Can you identify this item from our collection?
10/14/2026

It's time for a WHAT is it Wednesday! Can you identify this item from our collection?

Happening tonight at 6:30, a virtual tour via Zoom of our magnificent Heritage Center building, once Springfield's City ...
10/13/2026

Happening tonight at 6:30, a virtual tour via Zoom of our magnificent Heritage Center building, once Springfield's City Building and Market - you can still join! Register here: https://www.westcotthouse.org/events/city-building-market-virtual-tour

City Building & Market Virtual Tour
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
5:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Architect Charles Cregar’s City Building and Market has been heralded as a masterpiece of American design since its completion in 1890. It’s unusual shape (nine times longer than it is wide), grand stone towers, and playful use of the Richardsonian Romanesque style make it a one-of-a-kind architectural landmark. Join Natalie Fritz and Kevin Rose on this virtual tour of the building, which now houses the Champion City’s local history museum. This virtual tour is free for all audiences.

10/13/2026

We wanted to let you know about this event, happening tomorrow evening, Wednesday, October 14th at 6:30, when the “Made-in-Springfield” Museum will hold their 1st Civil War Roundtable, put on by Dan Hearlihy and Ski Schanher. Civil War historian Phil Spaugy will speak about “Arming Ohio in 1961.”

The event will be held at the Heritage Center in the first floor meeting room, Crabill Discovery Hall. Please bring your favorite Civil War artifact to show & share with everyone. Refreshments will be offered.

Address

117 S Fountain Avenue
Springfield, OH
45502

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm
Saturday 9am - 3pm

Telephone

+19373240657

Website

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