Westfield Washington Historical Society & Museum

12/06/2022

Jim is so happy. The door fits and works great. Barker log cabin. One door down another to build.

12/05/2022

First Barker cabin door done and delivered to the cabin. Wood is from an 1823 log cabin from Paoli, Indiana. Thank you Jim Peyton for your hard work. It looks amazing!

11/30/2022

FYI due to health issues in our volunteer ranks we won't be having our hot chocolate booth at the Westfield in Lights event this year. Please check back with us for other events coming up soon!

The museum will be open from 3p-7p, so stop by and say hello.

11/29/2022

Happy Giving Tuesday! Tuesday after Thanksgiving is to give to non-profits and the Westfield Washington Historical Society & Museum is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Please consider donating using our secure square site: https://wwhs-512798.square.site/
Below:
- 1835 Barker Family Log Cabin before it was moved and rebuilt
- WWHS Museum at 130 Penn Street Location Opening 2017
- Snapshot of our collection in CatalogIt software with 2469 entries (and growing!)

11/25/2022

Out at Grand Park for an event. Still impressed by the sports history display we put up a few years ago. - Michael K Eastern Engineering City of Westfield - Government more info here https://www.wwhs.us/research/grand-park-sign

11/22/2022

If anybody knows where the wood from the old Westfield High School on Main Street went, here an idea for reuse! - Michael K

This is very cool !!!
( From the High School at 6th and Canal Streets, MV. )

11/22/2022

Visited the 1835 Barker Family Log Cabin and Memorial brick pathway and caught a good picture of the sunset on the cabin... It is beautiful - Michael K Visit Hamilton County, Indiana
City of Westfield - Government

11/19/2022

Well this is one thing thats easier with Westfield history: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westfield,_North_Carolina

Let's talk about how Carmel got its name because we believe the story that's been shared for several generations (including by CCHS) is wrong. The story went that the town of Bethlehem was granted a post office in 1846, but there was already a post office called Bethlehem in Clarke County. That part is true. According to town lore, William Peele came home after attending a town meeting and told his wife Elizabeth about the struggle to come up with a name for the post office. Elizabeth had been working her loom and thinking about a Biblical city called Carmel that was known for its fertile land. She suggested the name to her husband, and William took the name to a town meeting, and the rest is history... except it didn’t happen this way.

Last week, we looked into the story and discovered that Elizabeth Peele could not have suggested the name. In 1846, she was a teenager living in North Carolina. She didn't marry William until 1850, and they didn't come to Carmel until 1862.

John F. Haines was a county historian and the county’s preeminent educator for several decades. He claimed in his Hamilton County history book and in several newspaper articles that his grandfather, Levi Haines Sr., came up with the name. Levi Haines was the town merchant and a prominent figure in Bethlehem. He ran the general store where the post office was located from 1839 to 1850, and in 1847, he became the postmaster. It is much more likely that he came up with the name. Though we might never know the specifics about how Carmel became Carmel, it seems Elizabeth Peele was not part of the equation.

11/16/2022

Great progress was made on the brick sidewalk today! Please don't use the walk yet until work is finished. But so fun to see from the regular sidewalk!

11/16/2022

Barker’s 1835 log cabin is coming together. Laying the brick sidewalk today. Cold morning but an exciting day! And President Diana Peyton lays the first brick.

11/16/2022

11/14/2022

11/13/2022

First snow our 1835 Barker cabin has seen for probably 150 years. It needs a fire in the fireplace to warm up. We are getting closer to opening.

11/11/2022

Today we remember the sacrifices of Veterans all over.
And since we are all about history of course not just call it Veterans Day but also Armistice Day as it was originally called on November 11th 1918

11/11/2022

Our 1835 Barker cabin is taking shape. Sidewalk, front and back door, landscaping and some trim yet to be done. A huge thank you to Bill Lambdin, Steve Osborne, Jim Peyton and Jeff Beals for helping cleanup and taking trips to the dump.

11/08/2022

Thank you City of Westfield - Government - This wonderful picture is the collection Object ID: 2007.7.61 from Camilla Allen Axelrod Collection. I wonder what kind of floats will be in the 2034 bicentennial parade? Picture most likely taken by Byford Inman from last weeks history post.

11/08/2022

Looking for an old grandfather’s clock. Must be fairly simple as it’s for our 1835 log cabin. Do you know of any?

11/07/2022

Two Violent Saloon Fires Show Polarizing Views on Alcohol in 1880s

Listen up Saloons! Read here what we do to you in Westfield! (Great article by Casey McDonald Patrick inspired by research from County Historian David Heighway and posted in Hamilton County Bicentennial page - follow them - 2023 will be big!)

It’s easy to find Hamilton County residents toasting glasses to health and happiness during the holiday season. Some of us host parties where cocktails are as ubiquitous as sugar cookies. But our community hasn’t always been as civilized or as tolerant of alcohol consumption. Hamilton County His...

11/05/2022

Just spend some time with the project manager from INDOT talking about SR32 and Picketts - interesting chat! We provided pictures to them from the outside of the building and area, but the only inside picture we have is the one below from the 1963 Pickett's Christmas photo! Anybody have any other pictures from the inside? Official ones, snap shots, family parties, either way! Please send them our way!

11/04/2022

The museum will be open on Saturday November 5th (as it is most Saturdays) from 10a to 2p! Join us and have a look at the collection! You can also have a peek at our rebuilt and almost finished 1835 Barker family Log Cabin - but we can't let you inside yet! Soon! (No historic cars included in your visit this Saturday - this picture is from our museum opening at this location!)

11/03/2022

Featured Collection item: 2007.7.1125 (yes, the 1125th object from this accession we received from Camilla Allen Axelrod! - we have more still!)

Postcard from John J. Baldwin (Who lived to the ripe old age of almost 96! 1850-1946! Born and died in Westfield!) to Barbara N Jeffries (Camilla's Mother!) postmarked in 1914! Read more about it in our Online Museum here: https://hub.catalogit.app/4415/folder/b69a3e70-3079-11eb-bf86-47cf234c474c/entry/a4f3af20-2d3a-11ed-96f8-0bcaa9e50319

11/02/2022

Thank you City of Westfield - Government for highlighting one of our early Historians in Westfield. If he hadn't documented so many occasions with his camera or saved so many items, we would know much less about old Westfield than we do now!

10/31/2022

And the windows are going in the Barker cabin. Thanks Jeff Beals, Jim Peyton and Steve Osborne and their sidekick Diana Peyton. The cabin is coming right along.

10/30/2022

There are a lot of changes going on in Westfield and especially on SR32/Main Street. Here a picture from the 1960s and the north side of it. McMullans. And a glimpse of the new home of Dance Innovations PAC and of course Ben's BBQ Shack Left part of the McMullan building is of course Westfield Chamber of Commerce . Here more details about this picture in our collection (Michael K): https://hub.catalogit.app/4415/folder/b69a3e70-3079-11eb-bf86-47cf234c474c/entry/1a5e6ff0-5b75-11eb-997e-e9d966296a00?fbclid=IwAR0InU2sLy4Lb_h5pqKohKnvXIVnM99YuH7G5COX6S3nAT-ruH218jYn_fY

10/25/2022

Thank you City of Westfield - Government for continuing to sharing items from our collection. I wonder how people will dress up for the bicentennial of Westfield founding in 2034? This is collection item: 2007.7.62 - and yes, the Barker's from the Garage in the background are related to Nicholas Barker and family that built the log cabin we saved and rebuilt!

10/25/2022

It’s been a couple of busy weeks at the 1835 Barker cabin. What do you think? A huge thank you to Dale Campbell and DC Masonry for an outstanding job! And to Jim Peyton and Steve Osborne for their endless tiring work.

10/23/2022

Barker cabin fireplace is almost completed. Thank you for the expert job DC Masonry.

10/22/2022

Amazing!!!!! Our fireplace in the Barker cabin is coming along beautifully. Master Mason Dale Campbell teaches President Diana Peyton the skills of laying stone on our fireplace. He is does amazing work!!

10/22/2022

10/19/2022

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO LOVE HISTORY INVITED TO BECOME HAMILTON COUNTY BICENTENNIAL AMBASSADORS

FYI - we love history! Do you?

Noblesville, Ind. — High school sophomores and juniors interested in history and community can apply to serve as Hamilton County Bicentennial Ambassadors through a new program sponsored by the 2023 Hamilton County Bicentennial Committee. Student ambassadors will serve as a bridge from the past to ...

10/18/2022

UPDATE - November 16th 2022: The first batch of bricks has been received and are being laid as I type this. If you want to place your order for a 2nd batch of bricks, to be ordered in 2023, feel free to follow the directions below!

If you have been waiting towards the end of our buy-a-brick for the sidewalk to the Barker Family Log Cabin drive, now would be the time. We are finalizing donations received and asking people who wanted to submit a logo to make sure they do. Still taking orders today. Maybe tomorrow. After that depends on our brick engraving company if they can add more later - we will let you know. But if you want to make sure to get your name or your family or company in - do it now. If you already did, thanks! Maybe submit a 2nd one for a friend or family member? We appreciate it! - Michael K

https://wwhs-512798.square.site/product/buy-a-brick-nicholas-barker-cabin-rebuild-fundraiser/11

Use the link above or below to get to the payment form. In the payment form screen is also a link to the order form which you also will have to fill out to provide the detailed lettering for your brick engraving. Submit both please! Thanks!

10/18/2022

Thank you for City of Westfield - Government for sharing this and doing some extra research too. We will have some road building/widening issues shortly in Westfield with SR32. We have a whole series of pictures of historic road building :-) Indiana Department of Transportation

10/14/2022

Since City of Westfield - Government posted it, thought I'd share it here - we didn't do the colorization, they did :)

This postcard is in the Westfield Washington Historical Society & Museum collection - Camilla Allen Axelrod accession item 2007.7.59 - See more details here - https://hub.catalogit.app/4415/folder/b69a3e70-3079-11eb-bf86-47cf234c474c/entry/2122d370-2d31-11eb-8afe-c36686951776

10/07/2022

So wonderful to have Mr. Irven Armstrong honored! Well done!

10/04/2022

Archives are the brains of Museums and Historical Societies. Please donate $, items or time to help us with our growing collection! - Michael K

10/03/2022

09/27/2022

Master Mason Dale Campbell teaches WWHS President Diana Peyton to lay fireplace brick on the 1835 Barker cabin.

09/27/2022

09/24/2022

Throwback to last year September 24th 2021 and some pictures I took of the cabin site and the logs in the storage barn. What an amazing year we had! Thank you cabin crew around Mike Bailey and especially our President Diana Peyton and all the volunteers! (Btw. we need more volunteers!) And thank you to the City of Westfield! And to all the donors! - Michael K Visit Hamilton County, Indiana City of Westfield - Government