THE ORR MANSION
LOGAN COUNTY MUSEUM
THE TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM
ORR MANSION
William Orr residence is now part of the Logan County History Center. The Logan County Historical Society purchased the home and the attached former Latham Nursing Home in 1988 for $50,000. After much hard work and remodeling, the mansion and museum were opened to the public in 1989.
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Mr. Orr came to Logan County around 1902. He owned several lumber yards in the area. In 1906, Mr. Orr began building his “dream home” which became the “showplace of Bellefontaine”. His knowledge and access to the best quality wood proved invaluable in building the home. The home was completed two years later at a cost of $40,000.
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The Orr family owned the house until the early 1920s. The home has had several owners since then: Mr. & Mrs. Carl Stuber (1922-1926), Mr. & Mrs. M.C. Harrold (1926-1947 – Mr. Harrold died in 1937 and Mrs. Harrold remarried in 1942), Harold Kerr Post of the American Legion (1947-early 1950s), Marvin & Nelle Pickering (1953-1960), Tom & Olga Latham (1960-early 1980s), and the Logan County Historical Society (1988-present).
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The home went through a number of changes over time. Mrs. Pickering made many updates to the home, including bringing the kitchen up from the basement to the first floor, installing wall-to-wall carpet and having the woodwork stripped and refinished. The Latham’s added the nursing home in sections, while the family lived in the house.
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After the Lathams sold the house and nursing home, the building was left vacant for several years. Pipes froze and burst in the house, vandals stole the windows around the front door and the 2nd floor stained-glass window, and raccoons and other animals took refuge in the abandoned house. It took the Historical Society a full year to get the house (and museum) cleaned and repaired to open to the public. In the years since, the mansion has undergone a historic renovation which has included having the original floors stripped and refinished, new wall treatments that are accurate to the early 1900s when the home was built, and new electrical wiring. The exterior has undergone extensive repairs and restoration work, including a new tile roof in 2017, using the same style of tiles as the original roof and made by the same company that made the roof tiles for Mr. Orr. This work to help bring the Orr Mansion back to its original grandeur continues today.
LOGAN COUNTY MUSEUM
The Logan County Museum includes more than a dozen rooms dedicated to a particular theme, area, or subject of Logan County or American history. These include an Indian/Early Logan County Room, Underground Railroad Room, One-Room School exhibit, Doctor’s Office, Toy Room, General Store, Military Room, and others. Many of these exhibits have been recently updated and redesigned, including those in the hallway. The museum also features special exhibits throughout the year and a Christmas open house (first two full weekends in December) when the mansion is decorated and Christmas trees line the museum’s hallway.
The museum itself is in the former Latham's Nursing Home section of the building. To learn more about our exhibit rooms, click on any of the following links.
THE TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM
The Logan County Transportation Museum addition opened in April 2014. The building was designed by architect Karen Beasley of Beasley Architecture and Design in Bellefontaine. It was designed in the spirit of the Big Four/New York Central Railroad Roundhouse that stood in Bellefontaine from the late 1890s to the 1960s.
The building was made possible through a Transportation Enhancement Grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation. The ODOT grant paid 80% of the $3 million project. The Historical Society raised the rest of the money through donations from local businesses, industries, and individuals. The complete list of donors can be seen in the entry of the Transportation Museum, as well as a dedication board acknowledging many individuals who played a key role in the project.
The first-floor bays are dedicated to numerous exhibits on Logan County’s important role in transportation.
The second floor houses the Logan County Genealogical Society and their library and the Logan County Historical Society’s Archives, as well as the AcuSport Meeting Room.