The Dayton Heritage Museum is seeking community support as it works to reopen after it closing last year for major repairs.
Members of the museum’s board, Tina Neyer and Laura Moeller, shared updates on the museum’s renovations at Tuesday’s Dayton City Council meeting.
“We just want to share where we are with the museum, some of the goals and how things are moving along,” Moeller said. “As many of you know, in October of 2023 the museum celebrated its 10-year anniversary. At that time, though, it was decided that there was a number of repairs that had been lagging and needed to be addressed, so we felt it best that the museum should actually close temporarily for those repairs to happen.”
The museum has new windows, roof repairs, new flooring and a new paint job, she said. During that time, museum volunteers moved the collection from the front to the back of the building and spent many hours sorting through and cataloging the materials.
With new technology also in place, plans are to begin digitizing the collection. Digitization will make historical and genealogical records more accessible and available to a broader audience, Moeller said.
“The main goal is for us to actually be able to open the museum again this year and for it to be a welcoming space,” Moeller said. “And we have a lot of ideas about how to actually revamp our exhibition space to make it an enjoyable space for people.”
Telling the Dayton story
Neyer spoke of the importance of the museum to the community and beyond. She recounted some of its early days and how she got involved.
“Sometimes all it takes is for someone to invite you to volunteer,” said Neyer. That’s how I came to be associated with the museum in October of 2012. Then city attorney Jack Fisher asked me if I’d be interested in working with Charlie Tharp and a small band of volunteers on sifting through the enormous collection of documents, materials and artifacts that Charlie had housed in his real estate and insurance business.
For the next year, Neyer said, the group met on Thursdays and Saturdays, “uncovering the rich history of this little town at the bend in the Ohio.”
“The story of Dayton unfolded in a way I’d never known before,” said Neyer. “We uncovered so many different things that are part of the history, the rich history of our town, as we worked in this space, and once the museum officially opened, people would peer in, bring things to us.”
She recounted stories of Dayton’s past including its beginnings as two towns, Jamestown and Brooklyn; the early Germans who settled here; later years with beaches and amusement parks, as well as some of Dayton’s colorful residents.
“Countless people have walked these streets, be they famous or just ordinary folks, and like Charlie Tharp, those of us who have had the privilege of calling Dayton home feel a sense of pride surge when we walk through the doors of the museum because we really have quite a collection,” said Neyer. “It’s just a matter of making sure that we preserve it.”
Looking to the future
Neyer and Moeller urged the community to support and visit the museum once it opens. The board has established a nonprofit, the Dayton Heritage Museum Society, to give them the ability to apply for grants for projects — and they have some ideas.
“We would love to have a historic walking tour of the city,” Moeller said. “We’d also like to look into some historical markers and even have some events focused on oral histories. I know that was something that had happened in the past, and I would love to see that happen again.”
She closed with an invitation to become involved.
“In this new, very exciting phase of our board, we need help,” Moeller said. “We have two seats available on our museum board, and we would love other volunteer help to get us to reopen. We have beautiful new-to-us cases for our artifacts, and we need help going through things and getting them there.”
No date is set yet for the reopening. To learn more or volunteer, contact the museum through the city at 859-491-1600 or fill out the contact form on the Dayton Heritage Museum website.