We are entering into a new year – our 78th to be exact. This past year has offered new beginnings and (as to be expected in a historic site) fantastic old traditions and finds, including a murder mystery from the 1800’s.
Our mission at the Lake County History Center has a dual purpose. We both preserve Lake County history and bring local history education to the community. To that end, we welcomed in 2,817 students in 2015 and 1,382 adult learners. We added in seven new education classes and programs, partnering with the Fine Arts Association, Lake Metroparks, and Holden Arboretum. In addition, we added a new historical timeline event, and built the Householder General Store to add economics into our core Pioneer School curriculum.
We are incredibly proud to partner with local organizations and projects. History encompasses all interests, all people, and all locations. We reached nearly 8,000 people through community events in 2015. These ranged from specialized exhibits to outreach booths at events to a local farming movement that ties in with our building’s agricultural past. We remember that history is found not only in our archives, but with our neighbors and in our community.
Our collections are at the core of our mission. The stories and artifacts provided by the community to us for safe-keeping and interpretation are the building blocks for our educational programs, exhibits, and events. In 2015, we received 68 new artifacts, cataloged 1,209 pieces, and in return hosted seven new exhibits and placed over 10,000 records into our new online collection. We are happy to have served researchers in 16 states and 1 province throughout the past year.
As we are sharing this informational blog post, we need to also mention our 2015 online development. We launched our new website in March 2015 and have been expanding it ever since. We saw nearly 20,000 visitors to our website since its launch and have recently added an historic touring platform and online collection pieces to it. We won an Ohio Travel Association Ruby Award for our “Digital Marketing Campaign” and partnered with the Ohio Museums Association to host a monthly Twitter chat #OHMuseumChat for museums across the state. Through that initiative, we reached 109,442 people.
While a lot of those projects were more publicly visible, many of our 2015 projects were not. Behind the scenes, the Board, staff, and volunteers of the Center were hard at work maintaining a fiscally sound organization that is well-prepared for the future.
We hosted the American Alliance of Museums for a Collections Stewardship Assessment to make sure we were maintaining best practices and properly ensuring the safety of our collection for generations to come. We approved a 2015-2020 Strategic Plan to further our dual mission of Lake County preservation and local history education. We created an Economic Impact Statement that we took to business leaders, government officials, and stakeholders to demonstrate our commitment to the community. Through the plans and progress we made, we received increased Ohio Arts Council funding, welcomed in eight new event sponsors, and thanked two new foundations for their project support.
In some of the more physically arduous work at the Center, we fixed our sewer lines, replaced our rotted doors, and installed an elevator. We moved offices to make room for a teacher resource center and classrooms, and we relocated reception and gift shop areas to make room for lobby renovations.
Throughout all of this, we maintained break-even finances for 2015. It is through the generous support of foundations, private donations, and our visitors that we continue to preserve and interpret Lake County history. With all that being said, we want to thank all our partners, community members, Board, staff, and volunteers for a fantastic 2015. We are looking forward to a productive and exciting 2016!
