Champaign County Historical Museum - Urbana, OH

Champaign County Historical Museum - Urbana, OH Whether you're visiting your old hometown or have been in the area your entire life, stop in to see u

The Champaign County Historical Society collects, preserves, and interprets relevant artifacts, documents, and other resources from Champaign County to educate current and future generations about our history.

Buy your tickets today for an entertaining evening, at our annual Picnic and Concert on the Lawn, 6 p.m. Saturday, June ...
05/29/2026

Buy your tickets today for an entertaining evening, at our annual Picnic and Concert on the Lawn, 6 p.m. Saturday, June 13.

Tickets, for $20 each, can be purchased online at https://pci.jotform.com/form/261255185271153, or at the museum, until noon June 11.

On the beautiful grounds of the Champaign County Historical Society Museum, 809 East Lawn Ave., you’ll be treated to bluegrass music by Bill Purk and a picnic dinner served by In Good Taste Catering – your choice of main dish (salad, sandwich, or wrap) with two sides and a cupcake dessert.

An open house at the CCHS Museum will follow so you can see the improvements we’ve made to your local history museum and view our new displays.

We’ve made physical improvements to the Champaign County Historical Society Museum—like new display cases that enhance o...
05/26/2026

We’ve made physical improvements to the Champaign County Historical Society Museum—like new display cases that enhance our exhibits. And we’re making improvements in how we carry out our mission to preserve and share local history.

Proof of this: We recently received two certificates from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). They indicate our progress in adopting recognized best practice standards for nonprofit history organizations through the AASLH’s Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations (STEPS).

The certificates acknowledge our completion of the basic levels of two of the six sections of STEPS – the Mission, Vision, and Governance section and the Audience and Community Engagement section.

Currently, we're working toward the basic level of a third section, Interpretation. The other three sections of STEPS are Stewardship of Collections, Stewardship of Historic Structures and Landscapes, and Management.

After completing the basic level of all six sections, we will advance to the second and third tiers of each section.

STEPS is a self-study process to assess operations, take actions to improve them, and attain best practice standards to better serve our community and more fully fulfill our mission.

CCHS Director Cheryl Ogden explains, “Our primary goal in the STEPS process is to drive forward our mission to preserve Champaign County history, provide an accurate interpretation of our history, in all its facets, to educate current and future generations about our past, and to be good stewards of our resources.”

Buy your tickets now, at https://pci.jotform.com/form/261255185271153, for the Champaign County Historical Society’s ann...
05/21/2026

Buy your tickets now, at https://pci.jotform.com/form/261255185271153, for the Champaign County Historical Society’s annual Picnic and Concert on the Lawn, scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, June 13, on the CCHS Museum grounds, 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana. An open house will follow the picnic so you can see recent improvements and new displays in the museum.

At the picnic, Bill Purk, founder of the Muleskinner Band, will play bluegrass music and provide highlights from bluegrass history.

Tickets, for $20, may also be purchased at the museum, until noon June 11. When you buy your tickets, choose from a selection of entrees and side dishes prepared by In Good Taste Catering.

Calling all arts and crafts and food vendors! It’s time to reserve your space for the Historical Society’s most popular ...
05/15/2026

Calling all arts and crafts and food vendors!

It’s time to reserve your space for the Historical Society’s most popular event of the year: Oktoberfest, Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the front lawn of the CCHS Museum, 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana.

Please visit https://www.champaigncountyhistoricalmuseum.org/oktoberfest.html for more information and to fill out and submit your vendor application.

Learn how to care for your family’s treasured heirloom textiles – like quilts, linens, blankets, baptismal and wedding g...
05/08/2026

Learn how to care for your family’s treasured heirloom textiles – like quilts, linens, blankets, baptismal and wedding gowns, and military service uniforms – at the next free program at the Champaign County Historical Society Museum, 2 p.m. Saturday, May 16.

The program will be presented by Carol Miller, a CCHS volunteer who offers her years of expertise to help preserve historical textiles in the museum’s collection.

Carol, who served for 30 years as a family and consumer sciences educator with The Ohio State University Extension Service in Clark and Champaign counties, will share how to properly display, store, and clean cherished textiles.

She earned BS and MS degrees from OSU in human ecology, with emphasis in clothing and textiles, a certificate in Collections Care and Conservation from the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies, and completed textile history and conservation training from the University of Rhode Island, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the American Quilt Study Guild, the Costume Society of America, and the Indiana State Museum.

This program will not be recorded.

Were you unable to attend one of our recent history programs at the CCHS Museum? Not to worry. You can watch them on our...
05/06/2026

Were you unable to attend one of our recent history programs at the CCHS Museum? Not to worry.

You can watch them on our website, including recent programs on Richard Stanhope, The Hall Company and Celesta Dunn's recounting of the Kent State University shootings, when she was a student there. https://www.champaigncountyhistoricalmuseum.org/past-programs.html

Today is the 56th anniversary of the shooting of Kent State University students, on May 4, 1970, by Ohio National Guard ...
05/04/2026

Today is the 56th anniversary of the shooting of Kent State University students, on May 4, 1970, by Ohio National Guard troops. We thank CCHS volunteer Celesta Dunn for sharing Sunday her memories as a Kent State student on that tragic day.

Thanks to Kyle Hall for his engaging presentation Saturday on the history of his family’s Urbana manufacturing business,...
04/28/2026

Thanks to Kyle Hall for his engaging presentation Saturday on the history of his family’s Urbana manufacturing business, The Hall Company. Starting out in 1961, in the basement of his grandfather’s East Church Street home, the company, now in a manufacturing facility on East Water Street, supplies customers around the world in a wide range of industries, including medical, aviation, industrial automation, scientific equipment, food production equipment, military, and some consumer applications.

Its products have even gone beyond the earth, on Gemini and Apollo spacecraft, including the lunar rover, still on the moon.

Fifty-six years ago, on May 4, 1970, Celesta Dunn of Urbana stepped out of Taylor Hall at Kent State University, after a...
04/27/2026

Fifty-six years ago, on May 4, 1970, Celesta Dunn of Urbana stepped out of Taylor Hall at Kent State University, after a journalism class, and witnessed an American tragedy. We invite you to hear her firsthand account of the shootings of Kent State students by members of the Ohio National Guard, at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at the Champaign County Historical Society Museum, 809 East Lawn Ave. Her presentation is free and open to the public.

Celesta, a 1967 graduate of Urbana High School, now volunteers on the Champaign County Historical Society’s Collections and Exhibits Committee. After college she served as a reporter and photographer at the Urbana Daily Citizen, and in a variety of public relations and leadership roles, before serving for 18 years as executive assistant to the provost of Wittenberg University.

Here's the reveal:As Linda Packer correctly guessed Thursday, the new display at the CCHS Museum pays tribute to local a...
04/24/2026

Here's the reveal:

As Linda Packer correctly guessed Thursday, the new display at the CCHS Museum pays tribute to local auto racing legend Neal Sceva. The items in the display, donated by his family, are finally able to have their day in the sun, thanks to our new display cases, which allow us to to exhibit more of our collection of historical artifacts.

Address

809 E Lawn Avenue
Urbana, OH
43078

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm

Telephone

(937) 653-6721

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