New Indian Ridge Museum facts for kids

The New Indian Ridge Museum, Historic Shupe Homestead, and Wildlife Preserve is a special place in Amherst, Ohio. It's a private museum and nature reserve located along Beaver Creek. This area includes the old Shupe family home and lots of beautiful forests. These forests have wetlands, small seasonal ponds, and areas that sometimes flood. You can find many types of trees, wildflowers, ferns, and about fifty different kinds of birds here.

The museum has a wide variety of items, from very old prehistoric tools to things from recent years. Many of these items came from the original Indian Ridge Museum in Elyria, Ohio. That museum was started by Col. Raymond C. Vietzen. Matt Nahorn founded the current museum in 2000. It is not open to the public right now.

About the Museum and Preserve

Matt Nahorn worked hard to bring back parts of Vietzen's collection. Most of it was sold at an auction in the 1990s after Vietzen passed away. Nahorn honored Vietzen by using a similar name for his new museum. Vietzen's first museum, founded in 1930, was called the Vietzen Archaeological Museum. You could only visit it by invitation.

In recent years, the New Indian Ridge Museum (NIRM) has also focused on nature. It works to protect wildlife habitats. The NIRM started the Beaver Creek Watershed Group (BCWG). This group helps limit changes to the land that could cause more flooding or pollution. The BCWG works to keep floodplains and riparian zones healthy along Beaver Creek. They also created private trails to enjoy the area's natural beauty and wildlife.

The NIRM has sometimes opened its property to local schools, like Lake Ridge Academy. They have given tours to students and teachers. The museum's main goals include teaching students and others about the area's nature, ancient history, and pioneer past.

Raymond C. Vietzen's Legacy

Most of the NIRM's items come from the collections of Col. Raymond C. Vietzen. He was the curator of the old Indian Ridge Museum near Elyria, Ohio. In 1930, Vietzen started the Vietzen Archaeological Museum at his family home. For over sixty-five years, Vietzen and his wife, Ruth Bliss, explored the history of their local area and other parts of the United States.

Raymond Vietzen was an automotive mechanic. He later wrote seventeen history books and became a talented artist. He was also an expert on the Erie Indians, also known as the Cat Nation. Several Native American groups adopted him.

His museum was often visited by local schools and groups. Vietzen had promised that his collection would never be sold. Many people had even donated items to his museum. However, after his death, his entire collection was sold piece by piece at an auction.

Vietzen was the last living founding member of the Ohio Indian Relic Collectors Society. This group is now called the Archaeological Society of Ohio.

Matt Nahorn's Work

Colonel Matthew W. Nahorn is the founder and curator of the New Indian Ridge Museum. He graduated from Lake Ridge Academy in 2008. In 2006, he worked with Lake Ridge Academy to create the Lake Ridge Archives. This project helps preserve the school's rich history. He still works as an archivist at Lake Ridge Academy.

Nahorn studied Environmental Studies at Oberlin College. He continues to research his hometown and local environmental issues. He has also started working with the Lake Ridge Academy staff to create a historical list of the school's items. He takes care of the NIRM museum complex. Local newspapers, like the Lorain Morning Journal and Elyria Chronicle Telegram, have featured the museum.

Because of Nahorn's efforts to protect nature, members of the Archaeological Society of Ohio asked the Kentucky State Government to give him an honorary title. In 2007, he was named a Kentucky Colonel. This is the same honorary title that Raymond Vietzen had received.

The Historic Shupe Home

In 1811, Jacob Shupe settled in what would later become Amherst Township, Lorain County, Ohio. The current owners of the Historic Shupe House have done 23 years of research. They learned that the house was built around 1812. It is the oldest house in Amherst. It was likely the first wooden frame house built in Lorain County. The house still stands on its original foundation.

Images for kids

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  A mature forest with a tree over 250 years old is a part of the wildlife preserve.

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  Beaver Creek and its watershed are being actively maintained.

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  Beaver Creek expands into its floodplain after a sizable rainfall.

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  Raymond C. and Ruth Vietzen conducted numerous archaeological explorations in the 1940s in Kentucky and Tennessee.