Loring G. Connett (left), Frances Dana Gage and Brigadier Gen. Rufus Putnam talk about their respective lives during the Night at the Museum event Saturday at Southeast Ohio History Center. First-person interpreters portrayed the historical figures, who had an impact on southeast Ohio, during the event. More on the event can be found on Page 4.
Clyde and Earl Fife talk during their visit to the Southeast Ohio History Center for the Night at the Museum event. The brothers were part of family of traveling preachers who held a revival from March 13-April 7, 1913, in Athens in a temporary tabernacle built on the site of what is now the Athens Armory. The revival helped double the congregation of the First Christian Church, which had a church constructed in 1917. The building is now the Southeast Ohio History Center.
Edward and Martha “Mattie” Berry were prominent business owners in Athens. Besides owning the Berry Hotel in downtown Athens, they contributed land and funds to build Mount Zion Baptist Church and donated to the construction of the Alumni Gateway on Ohio University’s College Green.
Loring G. Connett (left), Frances Dana Gage and Brigadier Gen. Rufus Putnam talk about their respective lives during the Night at the Museum event Saturday at Southeast Ohio History Center. First-person interpreters portrayed the historical figures, who had an impact on southeast Ohio, during the event. More on the event can be found on Page 4.
Frances Dana Gage comes from the past to speak to the crowd at the Night at the Museum event Saturday at the Southeast Ohio History Center.
Clyde and Earl Fife talk during their visit to the Southeast Ohio History Center for the Night at the Museum event. The brothers were part of family of traveling preachers who held a revival from March 13-April 7, 1913, in Athens in a temporary tabernacle built on the site of what is now the Athens Armory. The revival helped double the congregation of the First Christian Church, which had a church constructed in 1917. The building is now the Southeast Ohio History Center.
Frances Dana Gage, an abolitionist from Marietta, speaks about her efforts to hold conventions to remove race and gender requirements for state citizenship and voting rights for the state of Ohio Constitution.
Loring Connett served as the commanding officer of Company L. 7th Infantry, Ohio National Guard in 1917. He drilled the unit out of the Athens Armory.
William E. Peters had many careers during his time in Athens County. Throughout his life, he chronicled Athens County history. At age 90, he published his last book, a history of Athens County.
Edward and Martha “Mattie” Berry were prominent business owners in Athens. Besides owning the Berry Hotel in downtown Athens, they contributed land and funds to build Mount Zion Baptist Church and donated to the construction of the Alumni Gateway on Ohio University’s College Green.
What do a pair of business owners, a family of traveling preachers, an abolitionist, a Revolutionary War veteran and an engineer have in common?
They all stopped at the Southeast Ohio History Center on Saturday for its second annual Night at the Museum.
About 100 people attended the two-hour event.
Unlike some of their counterparts in the Ben Stiller movies, these historical figures were life-sized as modern interpreters donned the personas of notable people who either visited or lived in Athens County at one time or another.
Loring G. Connett (1885-1971), an Ohio National Guard veteran who began his seven years of military service in Athens, tried to get people to enlist. As a captain and the commanding officer, he sought a few good people to join Company L, 7th Infantry, based out of the Athens Armory.
Business owners Edward and Martha “Mattie” Berry discussed the Berry Hotel, a downtown Athens landmark nationally recognized for its outstanding service.
Did you know that in 1880, the Berry opened a restaurant and ice cream shop at 18 N. Court St.?
After selling their hotel, they retired to a home they built at 92 N. Congress St. The site is a block from the history center, at the intersection of Congress and West State streets.
Brigadier-General Rufus Putnam, who served in both the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War, was instrumental in the initial colonization of the Northwest Territory, which included present-day Ohio.
In 1788, he led a group of Revolutionary veterans to settle the land in what became Ohio, establishing Marietta.
W.E. Peters came to Athens County as an engineer to oversee the construction of a railroad and later became a surveyor. He was also a lawyer and chronicled Athens County history.
During the event, the historical figures spoke to the audience about who they were and what they did before moving to various areas in the center for more of a one-on-one experience.
As visitors talked with abolitionist Frances Dana Gage, two of the Fife brothers — Clyde and Earl Fife — and other notables, they could take a peak at the museum’s current exhibit, Southeast Ohio A to Z. The exhibit explores the region’s unique attributes through the alphabet’s letters.
Children were encouraged to visit at least seven historical figures to get their trading cards. In exchange, they got some candy and a goodie bag as a reward for their work.
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