Allen County Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1908 |
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| Location | 620 West Market Street Lima, Ohio 45801 United States |
| Type | Children's Museum, History Museum |
The Allen County Museum is a cool place to explore history in Lima, a city in Allen County, Ohio, United States. It covers a big area, like half a city block! The museum has a main building, a cozy log house, and the beautiful MacDonell House, which is a Victorian style mansion.
You can also see a special Shay Locomotive train display, visit the Children's Discovery Center, and explore a library filled with family history and local stories. There's even a Children's Garden to enjoy. This museum is officially recognized by the American Alliance of Museums. This means it meets high standards, and only a small number of museums in the U.S. get this special approval.
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Discovering the Museum's Past
The Allen County Museum is run by the Allen County Historical Society. This group started way back in 1908. At first, they were in Lima's Memorial Hall. But by 1935, they had so many interesting things that they needed more space!
So, they started raising money to build their own museum. A determined person named Elizabeth M. MacDonell led the effort. She had help from John Wesley Van Dyke, who was a big leader at the Atlantic Refining Company. Together, they successfully raised enough money for the new building.
Building plans were paused because of World War II. But in 1954, they laid the first stone for the museum. Guess what? This stone came from the original White House in Washington, D.C.! Since then, the Historical Society has gathered a huge collection of items. These items tell stories from both local history and around the world.
The museum also has amazing collections about railroads. This includes original drawings from the Lima Locomotive Works. This company was the third largest builder of steam trains in the United States! A very important train they made was the Shay engine, invented by Ephraim Shay.
Awesome Exhibits to Explore
The John Dillinger Jail Cell Story
One of the most popular exhibits at the museum is a recreated 1930s jail cell. Inside, you'll see lifelike wax figures of a famous bank robber named John Dillinger and the local Sheriff Jess Sarber.
In 1933, Dillinger was caught and brought to the Allen County Jail in Lima. When he was searched, investigators found secret escape plans! These plans were for eight other prisoners, known as the First Dillinger Gang. Just four days after Dillinger was captured, his friends came to the Lima jail. They pretended to be police officers. When Sheriff Sarber asked for their ID, a sad event happened.
After this, Dillinger's cell was opened, and they all escaped. This exhibit honors Sheriff Sarber. It shows items and old newspapers about his work. This event also led the FBI to name Dillinger a Public Enemy #1.
The Mighty Shay Locomotive
After the museum expanded between 2006 and 2009, the No. 10 Shay Locomotive Engine got a new home. It's now a main attraction, visible through the museum's large windows. This engine was built by the Lima Locomotive Works in 1925 for the Lima Stone Company.
This train is a special type, weighing about 24 tons! The stone company used it from about 1914 to 1933. The locomotive was saved in 1953, just hours before it was going to be cut up for scrap metal. It was fixed up for free by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton for the Historical Society. The train was first placed on a lot with a shelter. Later, it was moved permanently inside the museum. This locomotive is a great example of the many trains made in Lima. The Lima Locomotive Works was once the third largest maker of steam trains!
Ancient Native American Treasures
The museum has a fantastic collection of Native American artifacts. These include art, pottery, clothing, arrowheads, and other items from the first people who lived here. The collections are organized by time period. Some items are super old, going back almost 10,000 years to the Ice Age!
The biggest collections are from more recent history. They show everyday objects used by Native Americans. One display shows the original borders of the Shawnee Reservation. This land was set aside for the tribes to live on. Later, treaties forced these native people to move West.
Another exhibit shows a recreation of a prehistoric Glacial Kame burial. The Kame people were Native Americans who lived in this area about 4,000 years ago. The display shows how they buried people in a special curled-up position. The real skeleton was found in 1960, along with others, in a mass burial site near the city. This is one of three such burial sites in Allen County.
George Washington's Mount Vernon Model
On the upper floor, the museum has an amazing model of President Washington's Mount Vernon home. This detailed model shows what daily life was like for workers and family on the plantation. It also shows the layout of the mansion's rooms.
George S. Pond and his son Stanton started building this model in 1935. It took them almost two and a half years to finish! The model is a very complex work of art. It has thousands of tiny pieces, each designed just for the mansion. For example, the roof shingles are incredible. More than 8,000 tiny pieces were individually stained, polished, and placed on the model. The model even has doors with working hinges! They can open and close with tiny, specially designed keys and locks.
The room with this exhibit also holds many valuable artifacts. These include French Canton glassware used by Washington, busts of famous Americans, original pages from King George III's ledger with his actual signatures, and a real 1795 American flag.
Cool Vehicles & Carriages
The museum has an impressive collection of vehicles, both motorized and horse-drawn. You can see a Milburn Light Electric Car from 1923, a 1909 gasoline-powered Locomobile Sports Roadster, and a J.K. Fetter & Son Studebaker wagon. There's also a William Cron & Sons single horse buggy, a restored 1920s Meadow Gold Milk Wagon, a 1925 Ford Model T Roadster, and a 1908 Thor Single Engine Motorcycle.
The museum also displays a fully restored Gramm-Bernstein "Liberty Truck." From 1917 to 1919, over 5,000 of these U.S. Army Liberty Trucks were built in Lima. They were made by the Gramm-Bernstein and Garford companies. These trucks had very strict rules for how they were built. This meant their parts could be easily swapped if needed. These vehicles were used a lot in Europe and the United States during World War I.
Unique and Unusual Finds
The museum is also famous for its huge collection of unique artifacts. It has the world's largest collection of albino animals! There's also a replica room of Noah's Ark. You can see two horse-drawn hearses, one with a display coffin still inside. There's even an interactive Native American Wigwam.
Perhaps the most unusual exhibit is a collection of over one hundred objects. These items were removed from people's mouths, throats, or food pipes by doctors Walter and Estey Yingling. The objects range from coins, bones, teeth, and buttons to larger pieces like jewelry, bobby pins, a screw, keys, and even a rubber hose! It's a truly unique display.
MacDonell House
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MacDonell House
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Front of the house
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | 632 W. Market St., Lima, Ohio |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1893 |
| Architectural style | Shingle Style |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001999 |
| Added to NRHP | September 20, 1978 |
The MacDonell House is also known as the Banta-Van Dyke House. It's a beautiful Shingle Style house built in 1893. This historic home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Outreach
The Museum offers many fun activities! They have monthly talks and programs, Traveling Trunks (which bring museum items to schools), demonstrations, and special events. One popular event is the annual Christmas Tree Festival.
Images for kids
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The historic MacDonell House.
