Our Facilities
Benninghofen House Museum
Considered one of Hamilton’s most beautiful historic homes, built in 1862, the Benninghofen family lived continuously in the house since Pauline’s father, John W. Benninghofen purchased it in 1874.
Emma Ritchie Auditorium
The Emma Ritchie Memorial Auditorium was originally built in 1967 adjacent to and directly behind the Benninghofen House as a stand-alone building. The lower floor provides an exhibit area, display cases and valuable storage space. The upper floor has rest room facilities, a small kitchen, storage areas, a small stage for speakers and the auditorium has seating capacity for 150 people. Several major artifacts from the Beckett Paper Company, Mosler Safe Company and the Hamilton Centennial safe are displayed in the auditorium. Meetings and public presentations in the auditorium can now be live streamed and recorded for later review.
Olive S & Herbert T. Randall Research Center
The Randall Research Center houses the society’s archive storage facility and research library. The BCHS has conserved thousands of historical textiles including clothing and uniforms. The collection features Indian and indigenous people’s items; transportation, agricultural and industrial artifacts; paintings, ceramics, sculptures and art objects. Documents available for research include family records, city directories from 1858 to 2024; building histories; local newspapers on microfilm and bound volumes; atlases and plat maps; school yearbooks; court records and legal documents. Special collections include the John Woods legal papers from 1799 to 1852, Alta Harvey Heiser newspaper columns from 1951 to 1970, George Cummins “Remember When” photograph collection from 1951 to 1979; and a variety of cemetery, club and social organization records.
Heritage Hall and McCloskey Wonder Works Museum
Heritage Hall and the Robert McCloskey Museum were founded as a stand-alone, self-supporting organization by David Belew, Janet Eggleston, Susan Myers, Neil Sohngen and Karen Whalen in 2002. It is housed in the former Hamilton Municipal Building built in 1935 on High Street. The building, designed by local architect Robert Mueller, features exterior and interior bas relief designs created by 19-year-old Robert McCloskey, the artist and children’s book writer that is at the center of the Wonder Works Museum. Click Here to see additional information about the museum’s current activities and programs.