The Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County, also known as the Zanesville Historical Society, is an organization located in
Zanesville, Ohio, in the United States, with the mission of preserving the history of the Zanesville and
Muskingum County
Muskingum County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,410. Its county seat is Zanesville. Nearly bisected by the Muskingum River, the county name is based on a Delaware American Indian ...
region of
Ohio. It is a non-profit entity which operates several important historic sites in and around the
Zanesville, Ohio, area, including the Dr. Increase Mathews House, built in 1805 by a founder of the town; and the Stone Academy, erected in 1809 as a possible state capitol, which was also a meeting place for
abolitionist societies, and once the home of writer
Elizabeth Robins, who wrote about it. The Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County received a Preservation Merit Award from the Ohio Historic Preservation Office Award in 1993 for its work restoring and preserving the Stone Academy.
It is one of the oldest historical societies in the state, chartered March 4, 1890, as the successor organization to the Muskingum County Pioneer Association and the Old Settlers Association. It was reorganized in 1924, and exhibitions were re-opened to the public in Memorial Hall.
The Society maintains a vast number of historical documents. Among these are the journal and papers of Dr. Mathews, a pioneer who first explored the area in 1798. The papers were presented to the Society in 1943 by a descendant. The society also has the papers of Thomas Merritt (born 1759), a New Englander who was commissioned to serve in the loyalist Queen's Rangers in 1782 in the American Revolution, and who served as a Major of Canadian forces in the
War of 1812. The Society owns documents such as land grants or military commissions signed by
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
,
John Adams,
Thomas Jefferson,
James Monroe and
Abraham Lincoln.
The world's "largest and most representative collection" of
Weller art pottery was donated to the Society in 1958. Weller operated in Zanesville until 1948.
["Pottery to Pioneer Society." The Times Recorder, Zanesville, Ohio, August 25, 1958, page 20. Via Newspaperarchive.com (subscription). Retrieved August 26, 2008.]
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County
Buildings and structures in Zanesville, Ohio
Historical societies in Ohio
Museums in Muskingum County, Ohio
Historic house museums in Ohio
Organizations established in 1890
1890 establishments in Ohio