Trumbull County Historical Society

THE TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WILL SHOWCASE OVER 500 FUTURISTIC PROPS DESIGNED BY THE RENOWNED HOLLYWOOD FIRM MODERN PROPS. THE MUSEUM WILL FEATURE 10,000 SQUARE FEET OF EXHIBITION SPACE, COMBINING BOTH SEMI-PERMANENT AND ROTATING GALLERIES TO HIGHLIGHT THE ARTISTRY AND TECHNOLOGY OF PROP MAKING AS SEEN IN FILMS LIKE GHOSTBUSTERS, BLADE RUNNER, AND STAR TREK. THE PROJECT WILL ENGAGE AN EXHIBIT DESIGN FIRM TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE PLANS, FLOOR LAYOUTS, AND INTERPRETIVE MATERIALS THAT HONOR BOTH FANS AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY INPUT WILL SHAPE THE MUSEUM’S VISION, ENSURING A BALANCE BETWEEN NATIONAL APPEAL AND REGIONAL RELEVANCE. ULTIMATELY, THIS INITIATIVE AIMS TO ESTABLISH A NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT DESTINATION FOR SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ENTHUSIASTS WHILE FOSTERING LOCAL PRIDE AND PARTICIPATION.

TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WILL DIGITIZE 2,000 OVERSIZED ARCHIVAL ITEMS, INCLUDING THEIR URBAN RENEWAL ARCHIVE, WHICH DOCUMENTS THE HISTORY OF THE TRADITIONALLY BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS OF THE FLATS AND THE BOTTOMS, WHICH WERE COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED BETWEEN 1965–1985. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT DIGITIZATION OF OVERSIZED ARCHIVES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY BY WORKING WITH THE TRUMBULL COUNTY COLLECTIONS NETWORK (CO-NET) COMPRISED OF 16 SMALL AND RURAL MUSEUMS IN THE REGION. TWO CONSULTING CONSERVATORS WILL CONDUCT TRAINING ON OVERSIZED ARCHIVAL HANDLING, ESTABLISH PROCEDURES, AND ENSURE THAT BEST PRACTICES ARE OBSERVED. THE SOCIETY WILL PURCHASE A LARGE-FORMAT SCANNER AND MAKE IT AVAILABLE FOR USE BY THE CO-NET ORGANIZATIONS. COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE PUBLIC ACCESS TO MAPS AND BLUEPRINTS THAT SHOWCASE A PART OF OHIO THAT NO LONGER EXISTS AS WELL AS BUILDING A STRONGER HISTORICAL COMMUNITY IN THE COUNTY THROUGH SHARED RESOURCES.

TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WILL IMPROVE THE INTELLECTUAL AND PHYSICAL CONTROL OF ITS COLLECTIONS BY REHOUSING 15,000 ITEMS IN ITS MUSEUM COLLECTION. THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE INVENTORYING, CATALOGING, ENTERING OBJECTS INTO A COLLECTIONS SOFTWARE PROGRAM, AND MOVING ITEMS TO THE NEWLY ACQUIRED COLLECTIONS STORAGE FACILITY AT THE OWEN MORGAN HOUSE. MUSEUM COLLECTIONS CABINETRY, EQUIPMENT, AND SUPPLIES WILL BE PURCHASED, AND A COLLECTIONS MANAGER WILL OVERSEE THE PROJECT. A CONSERVATOR WILL PROVIDE HANDS-ON TRAINING FOR REHOUSING THE OBJECTS COLLECTIONS FOR 10 VOLUNTEERS TO ASSIST WITH THE COLLECTIONS MOVE, AS WELL AS CURRENT AND FUTURE COLLECTIONS-RELATED PROJECTS.

MORGAN HISTORY CENTER EXPANSION [TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (TCHS) REQUESTS FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $119,250 FOR A PLANNED CONSTRUCTION PROJECT TOTALING $477,000 TO ADD A MUSEUM QUALITY COLLECTIONS STORAGE FACILITY, TRAINING CENTER, RESEARCH ROOM, WELCOME CENTER/GIFT SHOP AND ROTATING EXHIBIT GALLERY TO THE MORGAN HISTORY CENTER (MHC) IN WARREN, OHIO. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE EXPANSION WILL BUILD ONTO THE BACK OF THE MHC, AN EXISTING C. 1894 BUILDING THAT TCHS WILL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC IN 2021 AS A CULTURAL AND EDUCATION CENTER FOR THE WARREN COMMUNITY. FUNDS WILL BE USED FOR THE FOLLOWING ITEMS: CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING ADDITION, CONSULTANT FEES FOR TWO CONSERVATORS (ONE COLLECTIONS, ONE FACILITIES) TO OVERSEE THIS WORK, AND EXHIBIT EQUIPMENT FOR THE ROTATING EXHIBIT GALLERY.]

THE TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WILL PARTNER WITH YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY, OAKWOOD CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, AND THE TRUMBULL COUNTY ARCHIVES & RECORDS CENTER TO DEVELOP AN ONLINE, INTERACTIVE MAP OF OVER 30,000 PEOPLE BURIED AT OAKWOOD CEMETERY. THIS PROJECT WILL ALLOW ACCESS TO TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS, OAKWOOD CEMETERY INTERMENT RECORDS, 7,500 NATURALIZATION RECORDS, AND PRIVATE FAMILY COLLECTIONS TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY FOR FAMILIES, RELATIVES, AND RESEARCHERS AND CREATE A TOOL FOR RESEARCHERS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND IMMIGRATION AND MIGRATION TO THIS POST-INDUSTRIAL, RUST-BELT COMMUNITY. THIS WORK WILL ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF A LACK OF TOOLS TO UNDERSTAND LOCAL IMMIGRATION AND GIVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ACADEMIC HISTORIANS THE RESOURCES TO SHED LIGHT ON IMMIGRATION TRENDS.

THE TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WILL IMPLEMENT A PILOT PROJECT TO IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT AND CARE OF ITS COLLECTIONS AND MOVE THEM TO A NEW CLIMATE-CONTROLLED STORAGE ENVIRONMENT. THE MUSEUM WILL APPOINT A COLLECTIONS MANAGER AND ENGAGE A CONSERVATOR TO WORK WITH STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS TO UPGRADE STORAGE CONDITIONS FOR 5,000 ARCHIVAL RECORDS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND DOCUMENTS. THE MUSEUM WILL PURCHASE NEW STORAGE RACKS AND CABINETS AND DEVELOP A WORKFLOW TO SUPPORT THE MOVE OF THE REMAINING COLLECTIONS DURING THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS. THE PROJECT WILL EQUIP STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS WITH THE SKILLS TO SUSTAIN ONGOING COLLECTIONS CARE AND MANAGEMENT.

THE TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN OHIO WILL EXPAND ITS WORK TRAINING STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS IN DIGITAL COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE. DURING THE PANDEMIC, THE SOCIETY TRAINED STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS TO DIGITIZE AND UPLOAD 6,000 ENTRIES TO AN ONLINE HUB IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE COLLECTIONS SAFELY ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC. THE ORGANIZATION IS NOW READY TO TRAIN 16 COLLECTING INSTITUTIONS THROUGHOUT TRUMBULL COUNTY TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN A ROBUST COUNTY-WIDE ONLINE PLATFORM. THE SOCIETY WILL PURCHASE SCANNERS AND A 5-YEAR SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION FOR EACH OF ITS PARTNER MEMBERS, CO-TEACH DIGITAL COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT, TEACH COLLECTIONS CARE AND HANDLING, AND MENTOR EACH GROUP TO UPLOAD 500 CATALOGUE ENTRIES TO A COUNTY HUB. SOCIETY STAFF WILL MAINTAIN PROTOCOLS, PROCEDURES, AND QUALITY TO SUSTAIN A ROBUST ONLINE ENVIRONMENT, AND WILL CONTINUE HIRING CONSERVATION CONSULTANTS TO TRAVEL WITH STAFF TO CONDUCT ON-SITE TRAINING AND OVERSEE PROJECTS AT COLLECTING INSTITUTIONS.

THE TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WILL WORK WITH THREE LOCAL, VOLUNTEER-RUN ORGANIZATIONS TO CONDUCT INSTITUTIONAL PLANNING EXERCISES BASED ON PREVIOUSLY COMPLETED SITE-VISIT REPORTS, PURCHASE CONSERVATION SUPPLIES TO REHOUSE ARCHIVAL MATERIALS, BEGIN AN ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM, AND DESIGN DIGITIZATION PROTOCOLS. THIS CONTINUATION OF INTER-INSTITUTIONAL GRASSROOTS COLLABORATION WILL INCREASE CAPACITY WITHIN THESE ORGANIZATIONS TO CARE FOR THEIR COLLECTIONS AND PROVIDE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TO THEIR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS. COLLECTIONS DIGITIZED DURING THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN THE CREATION OF AN ONLINE HUB, THE ?TRUMBULL COUNTY COLLECTIONS ACCESS NETWORK,? THAT LINKS TRUMBULL COUNTY COLLECTIONS RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHERS AND RESIDENTS.

TRUMBULL COUNTY, OHIO TREASURES: TELLING OUR STORIES