Warming Room/Den
This room was used to keep food warm before being served. The food was brought up from the basement kitchen by a dumbwaiter (also called a hand elevator.) The food was then passed through an opening into the dining room. The room is now shown as the kitchen and pantry.
Items of Interest:
-
Ice box
-
The period oil stove
-
The kitchen cupboard with work area
The Den was the area at the west end of the kitchen. The rooms were combined in the 1950’s.
Dining Room
The wainscot is original to the room, but the Pickering Family added the ceiling beams in the 1950s. The house originally had combination gas and electric light fixtures. The one here is electric and from the time- period but not this house. Featured is a set of hand-painted china fish plates that belonged to the Orr family.
Victoria Stanley and the Tamplin Trust sponsored the redecorating of this room.
East Parlor (Living Room)
During the Orr’s time here, the fireplace had a large mirror mounted above it and the furniture was upholstered in black leather. Currently there are photographs of Mr. Orr on the mantel. Above the fireplace is a long rifle made by S.W. Hornback, a gunsmith from Quincy. Taxidermy mounts are reminders of Mr. Orr’s interest in hunting, although these were not his trophies.
Dennis Kuba & family of Professional Restoration sponsored the redecorating of this room.
Entry
The marquetry table in the middle of the entry room belonged to the Orr family. The leaded glass windows surrounding the door were reproduced after the originals had been stolen in the 1980’s.
Judy & Bob Wilson and Bethany Wical of Flair IV Design sponsored the redecoration of this room.
West Parlor (Living Room)
This room was used for company and this fireplace also had a mirror mounted above it. The fireplace surround showing the “Three Graces” was originally in Judge William H. West’s home on South Main St. in Bellefontaine. The 1922 model baby grand player piano is still operational.
The redecoration of this room was sponsored by Ted & Carol Kneisley.
Music Room
Featured items include a pump organ owned by the Smith family. The parents and 5 children of the Smith Family Orchestra all played a variety of instruments and performed throughout Ohio for more than 30 years. Also of interest is a large hair wreath made in the 1890’s by Osie Piper (Loffer) of DeGraff.
The Underwood family sponsored the redecoration of this room.
First Bedroom
Items in this room are from the earliest time-period displayed on this floor, furnished in the style of the early to mid-1800s
Items to note:
-
The rope bed
-
Complete chamber set
-
1862 sewing machine
-
Spinning wheel
​
Restored and redecorated in honor of Gus and Idola Kaylor by their grandsons James K. Wood and Ralph A. Wood.
Second Bedroom - Nursery
Although not aways used as a nursery by the families that lived here, this gives an opportunity to exhibit some of our children’s items.
​
Items to note:
-
Black walnut vanity believed to have belonged to the Orr Family.
-
Day bed from the Skidmore family
-
Iron crib
-
Homemade hobby horse
-
Wooden baby walker
Restored and redecorated in honor of Fred and Alice (Dean) Bayliss and Paul and Mildred (Westfall) Hall by Jeff & Jannice Hall and sons.
Third Bedroom
"Miss Green’s Room"
Featured are items from the mid- to late 1800s from the Green family of East Liberty– all donated by Eloise Green, a teacher and professor. The rugs and dresser scarves were hand-woven by her mother. The baseball uniform was worn by her brother when he played for the East Liberty town team in the 1910s.
Restored and redecorated in honor of Milton and Sylvia (Creviston) Green and Earle Green by Mary Eloise Green.
Office
Items to note:
-
Doors leading on to second floor balcony - Orr grandchildren and Harrold children slept out on the balcony on warm summer nights.
-
The desk belonged to Mr. Orr. Displayed on it is a stock certificate from his mine in Idaho.
-
Green-Cushman hunting camp in Georgia painted by Warren Cushman of Zanesfield, whose family owned the cabin and land with the Green family of East Liberty
-
Prehistoric Indian points and tools found in Logan County
​
Restored and redecorated in memory of Isaac Newton Eads, 96th Regt. OVI, Civil War by Fred and Edith Eads
Fourth Bedroom
Considered the “master bedroom” for the Orrs and the Harrolds, it had an attached dressing room. The furniture was used here in the 1920s through 1940s by the Harrold family, as can be seen in the photo c.1947 on the bed. In later years, a nurse who cared for the residents of the nursing home used this room as part of her apartment. The matching coverlets were woven in Logan County in the mid-1800s.
​
Restored and decorated in memory of Ruth Wammes by Paula and Shelley Wammes.
The Ballroom
The floor, refinished in 1999, is of three kinds of inlaid wood. Used originally for formal dances and parties, this room currently houses temporary exhibits.
​
-
The Victrola belonged to the Stuber family who lived in the house in the 1920s.
-
American Legion emblem is visible on the newel post at the top of steps
-
The chandelier is from the Beatley Resort at Indian Lake
Double doors led to a third-floor balcony for guests to get a breath of fresh air. The original doors were replaced in 2001 because of severe warping. Society members David & Judy Castle and Dublin Millworks donated a reproduction of the doors. The door is cherry on the inside and oak on the outside. It includes nearly 500 miter cuts. Double D Construction of West Mansfield did more work on the doors in 2014.
The ballroom was restored in 1998 by the efforts of Professional Restoration and crews from The Logan County Human Services. The President of Professional Restoration Company is Dennis Kuba, and it has been estimated that the company’s donation of time and effort to the museum was worth some $25,000. To honor this, the Board dedicated the refurbished ballroom to Mr. Kuba and his company.