BCHS Blog
Read all about BCHS’s current and previous events below.
Next BCHSociety Program Features Clothing and Fashion During World War I
Lorem Ipsum
Pellentesque at nunc mauris. Ut quis nisi lacinia, rutrum leo sed, rutrum augue. Fusce varius sollicitudin mauris, quis tincidunt lectus bibendum vitae. Nunc posuere blandit elit mattis posuere. Mauris neque massa, sagittis non urna a, ullamcorper commodo nunc. Sed tellus urna, ornare ut congue ac, pretium pharetra ipsum.
Cras volutpat odio ac sapien faucibus auctor.
Sed consequat odio quis dictum.
Nam ac pharetra nibh. Nullam eu magna sit amet.
Nam ac pharetra nibh dapibus tincidunt.
Pellentesque at nunc mauris. Ut quis nisi lacinia, rutrum leo sed, rutrum augue. Fusce varius sollicitudin mauris, quis tincidunt lectus bibendum vitae. Nunc posuere blandit elit mattis posuere. Mauris neque massa, sagittis non urna a, ullamcorper commod.
Dolor Set Amut Consequir Amut
Nullam pellentesque in ligula sed volutpat. Fusce viverra, dui vitae ornare eleifend, dolor neque maximus massa, luctus elementum dolor urna blandit eros.
Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.
Pellentesque at nunc mauris. Ut quis nisi lacinia, rutrum leo sed, rutrum augue. Fusce varius sollicitudin mauris, quis tincidunt lectus bibendum vitae. Nunc posuere blandit elit mattis posuere. Mauris neque massa, sagittis non urna a, ullamcorper commodo nunc.
Maecenas vel convallis quam, non laoreet turpis. Quisque facilisis, felis in tempus imperdiet, sem odio tincidunt purus, vulputate ultrices ligula sapien sed lectus.
Historical Society Opens New Broom Making Exhibit
The Butler County Historical Society has opened a new exhibition showcasing how local workers manufactured brooms, one of the early items made in the county as early as the 1830s.
Using natural stiff grasses such as broomcorn made from the sorghum plant, local artisans fashioned brooms in many locations throughout Butler County during the 1800s and 1900s.
The exhibit, located in the display hallway connecting the research center and the Benninghofen House Museum at 327 North 2nd Street, Hamilton, will run through the end of the year and is free to the public. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Free parking is provided at the society.
Butler County was a leading producer of broomcorn in Ohio for several years including being ranked among the top 3 counties from 1883 to 1893 and the top 10 producers during earlier and subsequent years. Several broom-makers, including members of the area’s White Water Shaker group of the United Society of Believers, had businesses in Hamilton, Middletown and nearby townships.
The exhibit was developed and organized by Ed Crieghton, long time historical society volunteer and former executive director of the Oxford Museum Association. On display are samples of the materials used to create brooms and the machines required to make them. Actual broomcorn cutting trimmers, broom assembly equipment and flax wheels for making linens are included in the exhibit. Also featured in the display are products made from other parts of the broomcorn plant and selected grains such as barley and hops. Visitors can also see the continuing exhibit that features the historical society’s comprehensive collection of Indian artifacts, some of which are 10,000 years old. The collection of more than 2,500 items is on display in the society’s lower exhibit area
The Butler County Historical Society is a private non-profit formed in 1934 to preserve and interpret the county’s rich heritage. It owns and operates the Benninghofen House, a high-Italian style home filled with the furnishings of a wealthy family during the Victorian Era. Group tours of the society’s exhibits and the Benninghofen House Museum can be arranged by calling 896-9930.
Historical Society Opens New Indian Exhibit
The Butler County Historical Society has opened a new exhibition showcasing the museum’s comprehensive collection of Indian artifacts, some of which are 10,000 years old.
The collection of more than 2,500 items is on display in the society’s lower exhibit area at 327 North 2nd Street, Hamilton. The exhibit will run 
through the end of the year and is free to the public. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free parking is provided at the society.
The exhibit features hundreds of items donated by John F. Burer, Dr. Mark Millikin, and Frank Ramsey and private collections loaned to the historical society by Evelyn and Bill Kuhlman and Ed and Kathy Creighton. Some of the artifacts date from the Paleo-Indian era of 13,000 to 8000 BC. Items from nearly all Indian eras are included in the exhibit.
One of the most interesting pieces is a clay pot of the Fort Ancient culture, dating between 900 to 1650 AD, that was dug up on Campbell’s Island in the Great Miami River by Hamilton physician Dr. H. Lee Good in 1921. A prized artifact is the ax owned by Chief Little Turtle, the Miami Indian chief who had defeated General Arthur St. Clair and was the last signer of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 making southwest Ohio safe for settlers.
Historical information and details about Indian life covering the Paleo-Indian era; the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient cultures; and the Miami Indian and Shawnee tribes starting in the early 1700s are presented and illustrated in textual boards throughout the exhibit. The Butler County mounds, Indian earth works, Fort Hamilton and Native American wars that affected the Miami Valley are also featured. A small but interesting replica of the interior of a typical wigwam is also presented.
The exhibit was opened during Dan Cutler’s visit to the historical society to conduct a youth workshop on “Prehistoric People” as part of the Ohio Chautauqua programs held in Hamilton from June 14 to 18. Cutler is a historian and professional enacter of Chief Cornstalk, a Shawnee leader living in Ohio who fought with the French against the British during the French and Indian War of 1754-1763.
Cutler, as Chief Cornstalk, held the tomahawk/pipe once owned by Miami Indian Chief Little Turtle as Butler County Historical Society Executive Director Kathy Creighton looked on. “I am greatly impressed with the county historical society’s Indian exhibition,” Cutler said. “I think it puts the Indian collection at the Smithsonian Institute to shame.”
The Butler County Historical Society is a private non-profit formed in 1934 to preserve and interpret the county’s rich heritage. It owns and operates the Benninghofen House, a high-Italian style home filled with the furnishings of a wealthy family during the Victorian Era. Group tours of the Beckett exhibit and Benninghofen House Museum can be arranged by calling 513-896-9930.
Miniature Victorian Christmas Village Featured at the Butler County Historical Society
During this holiday season visitors to the Butler County Historical Society can take a trip back to the elegance of the Victorian era.
On display in the society’s Emma Ritchie Auditorium will be 45 porcelain lighted houses and nearly 200 costumed figures that capture the colorful daily life of the village’s citizens in small scale.
The entire village is part of a collection of porcelain buildings owned by Richard Piland, a member of the historical society’s board of trustees.
The display includes several churches, fire and police stations, two pubs, several traditional shops and a special “museumland” that includes museums of modern art, natural science, history and an observatory.
“I’ve been collecting these Lemax Caddington Village lighted houses for about twenty years,” Piland said. “They are a bit addictive because they are so enjoyable to see during the Christmas season and I started adding one or two each year. Now I have so many I can’t put them all out in our home so this display is a real treat for me because the entire Caddington Village houses I own are in this layout.”
The Victorian Village display is housed in the Butler County Historical Society, 327 North 2nd Street, Hamilton. It is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Free parking is provided at the society.
American Heritage Chocolate available at BCHS Bookstore
American Heritage Chocolate is made with an authentic 17th century recipe.
The Butler County Historical Society is the only place in Ohio where you can taste and purchase American Heritage Chocolate, made exclusively for museums and living history sites with a focus on education.
As an official distributor of American Heritage Chocolates, the BCHS is in the company of select sites such as Colonial Williamsburg, the Old North Church in Boston, and the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia.
The chocolates are produced using small-scale equipment with much of the process and packaging done by hand, reminiscent of how it would have been done in the 1600-1700s. It is an authentic historic chocolate product that uses only ingredients available in the 17th Century.
American Heritage Chocolate was developed by MARS to “share the delicious transformation of chocolate’s flavor, texture and format through the ages.”
For more chocolate history, visit the American Heritage Chocolate Facebook page.
We offer at our bookstore:
- Single sticks, $1.50
- Individually Wrapped Chocolate Bites, $7
- Chocolate Baking Block, $12.00
- Canister of Chocolate Drink Mix, $22
Current Exhibition: “Beckett, More Than a Business”
Part of the current exhibition Beckett: More Than A Business, is a 36-page booklet with a detailed history of the company, published for the company’s 125th anniversary in 1973. Much of it had been written by Bill Beckett 25 years earlier for the 100th anniversary.
About the Exhibition
Beckett: More Than A Business, a new Butler County Historical Society exhibition opening June 9, showcases the 164-year history of Hamilton’s Beckett Paper Company.
The company began operations in 1848 when William Beckett, Adam Laurie, Francis D. Rigdon, John Martin, and Frank Martin started the Miami Paper Mill.The company went through several name changes until it was incorporated as the Beckett Paper Company in 1887. A member of the Beckett family managed the company for 126 years, from 1848 to 1974. More than 550 employees worked at the Beckett mill to manufacture the company’s line of high-quality colored cover paper and other products that were exported to as many as 35 countries. The mill was the third oldest paper mill in America when it was closed in 2012.
The exhibition has been designed and organized by Dave Belew, president of Beckett Paper from 1974 to 1992, assisted by Mike Dobias of Miami University Hamilton. It will run through November 30 and is free to the public.
It is the largest exhibit ever presented by the Butler County Historical Society and fills three rooms with hundreds of photographs of Beckett employees going back to the 1860s, “Life at Beckett” employee newsletters, samples of company advertising, marketing materials prepared for customers, historic company documents and items saved from the company’s community activities.
Personal memorabilia of the Beckett family including founder William Beckett’s desk, the piano from Thomas Beckett’s home, and the door from a company chapel are also featured in the exhibit.
The Beckett Paper Company exhibit is housed in the Butler County Historical Society, 327 North 2nd Street, Hamilton. It is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Free parking is provided at the society.