Buggy Building.
The Great Abolitionist, John Brown, lived in Richfield in the early 1840s. When he first came here with his wife and many children, they lived in a log cabin located at the north end of the Farnam farm. They later … Continue reading
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Engines of the Museum
We’ve been collecting engines for quite some time now. Before electricity, you had a choice of wind power, hand or foot power, animal on a treadmill power, steam engine flat belt power, or early gas or kerosene engines of various … Continue reading
Sheep shear of Clayton J. Stanford
Today the museum received a long-term loan from the Peninsula Historic Society. They had simply run out of space for all the tools they had, so they asked if our farm museum could house and display the sheep shear once … Continue reading
W. Mullins Basket Shop
This Summer, the museum was given three buildings. The owner wanted to build something new, but that township gov’t wouldn’t allow any new construction until the old was gone. While that seems an example of government overreach, it was lucky … Continue reading
Mike J. Hotz Blacksmith Shop.
For a number of years now, I have had a problem. The first two blacksmith shops had inappropriate floors. Blacksmithing includes a good deal of fire and sparks. There’s always the danger of accidentally catching something unintended on fire (not … Continue reading
Newly Arrived Doctor in Town.
~From the Richfield Gazette. . “A new doctor has moved to Fryburg Village. Dr. Rielly, late of New Jersey, has moved his medical practice to Fryburg, seeking increased opportunities away from the bustle of the East Coast. He served with … Continue reading
J. I. Case Threshing Barn
A basic foundation of human culture is the achieved ability to grow, harvest, and store grain (which was later used to make porridge, breads, and mead or beer). The museum now has a new exhibit of how that was accomplished. … Continue reading
E. Palmer Woodworking Shop
More changes have come to the museum this Summer. With the building of the “new” blacksmith shop, we have decided to turn the old blacksmithy into a wood working shop. We built a dividing wall in the 30×20 (former) Hotz … Continue reading
Fryburg Cycle Co. ~C. V. Vessele -Cycle Agent
Stop by to visit the latest shop at the museum. It’s modeled with the Wright Cycle Co. in mind. The Wright Bros. began selling bicycles in 1892 while continuing to run their print shop. By 1896 they started designing and … Continue reading
What’s in a Basket?
Have you ever wondered about shopping carts? Everyone uses one if they are buying more than an item or two when they grocery shop. They are practically as common as cars. But where did they come from? Before their invention, … Continue reading
“New” Tin Shop
September of 2018 I had the opportunity to save as much as I could of a barn over on Brecksville Rd. The barn was once the centerpiece of one of the many old-time farms along that road. It had been … Continue reading
Early October at the Museum
We have many photography groups come to the museum for outings. We of course ask no charge. We simply appreciate them enjoying the museum and the many opportunities it provides for great pictures.
Hamburg Horseshoeing & Jobbing
This past week we have been working on building the Hamburg Horseshoeing & Jobbing Shop. Some years ago we were given a carriage building. A century ago it had protected the buggies at the Wall Farm in Sharon Center. The … Continue reading
Clock Shop & The Hampden Table
When I was quite young, first grade or so, my younger sister and I used to walk a long way down the gravel road to visit Mrs. Garman (back then there was almost no traffic and nobody worried about “stranger … Continue reading
The Old Landis, in the “New” Shop
I received a call a few years ago from the daughter of a gentleman in the nearby community of Brecksville. Her dad had reached the age of letting things go. He had a 700 lb. sewing machine he wanted to … Continue reading
P. S. Allen Harness Shop
Most every town had a harness shop at one time, some towns several. Richfield’s most well known shop was run by Peter Allen. It stood at the corner of Streetsboro and Broadview Rds. These days, early in the 21st Century, … Continue reading
Love of a Farm
The Story of My Family’s Farm -as told by Juanita Taylor My mom was a World War II war bride. My dad was a Navy pilot. After the war Dad remained in the Navy, and our family lived the … Continue reading
Nitre Kettle -The Pot That Won the War.
Human history and the art of war was forever changed with the invention of firearms. Gunpowder made it happen. The availability, or lack of, gunpowder often meant the winning or loss of a battle. In American history this … Continue reading
A Studebaker Buggy, ..and the Ely and Gest Families of Elyria
The museum received a fantastic donation today. An all original Studebaker buggy. Elyria was founded in 1816 (just 40 years after the establishment of our nation) by Herman Ely from Massachusetts. He came to the Western Reserve on horseback and built … Continue reading
Mystery at the Museum -Magic Lanterns
Several days ago I decided to set up a camera display in the (new) Gen’l Store. The museum has had a number of them in storage for several years, and it was time to get them out. But when I … Continue reading
A Bag of Charcoal
Several years ago someone donated a number of items which were immediately incorporated into various displays. –Except for a bag of charcoal of which I hadn’t really paid much attention. At casual glance it hadn’t seem to “belong” anywhere. So … Continue reading
Why We Don’t Charge Admission to the Museum.
We have been asked a number of times why we accept donations, but do not charge admission to the museum. We see our “mission” as several fold: We really like saving historic buildings. We believe it is extremely important to … Continue reading
Gas & Kerosene Pumps.
Before cars became popular there was much less use of oil based fuels. Some gasoline was used to power hit or miss engines, but most gas and kerosene was used in lamps (The first commercial use of gas was in … Continue reading
The Bartelemy, Lyford & Ailing Coverlets, …Tied Beiderwald Woven, w/. Jacquard Attachment.
~THE BARTELEMY/FULMER COVERLET, -FIVE GENERATIONS OF CARE.~ The Museum had a happy event the other day. Kyle & Carol Morison stopped by. They brought a beautiful coverlet, woven in 1847 by Jacob Bartelemy of New Britain, in Stark Co., Ohio. … Continue reading
The Stills of Stone Garden.
The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called “whiskey tax” was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by … Continue reading