Arms Family Museum of Local History
648 Wick Avenue Youngstown, OH 44502
330-743-2589 mvhs@mahoninghistory.org
Exhibit History
Description
Every year the Arms Family Museum is adorned with rare, one-of-a-kind, vintage holiday decorations from the collections of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society and various local, private collectors. The authentic period rooms of the 1905 Arms mansion provide the perfect backdrop for this vintage display that evokes many visitors’ fond holiday memories.
The “Memories of Christmas Past” holiday exhibits began in December of 2008. Exhibit planning takes place all year long with actual decoration of the mansion’s period rooms commencing in October. The staff of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, along with local collectors and volunteers, spends six to eight weeks creating and arranging the vignettes on display. Past themes have included “Holiday in Motion” (2009), which featured rare displays of vintage Lionel train sets and mechanical collectibles, and “All Dolled Up!” (2010), a unique assortment of vintage dolls and dollhouses from the past 150 years. The holiday displays are new every year, but visitors will enjoy seeing their favorite collectibles revisit the museum from time to time!
History of the Arms Mansion
Built in the Arts & Crafts style in 1905, the Arms Family Museum was once the private residence of Olive and Wilford Arms. Their home was one of the last mansions to be built on Wick Avenue, which was known as “Millionaire’s Row,” in the early twentieth century. Mrs. Arms (at left) was a direct descendant of the Wicks, one of Youngstown’s founding families. She was also a talented artist who helped design both the exterior and interior of her home. Some of the interior furnishings she designed are still on display. Mrs. Arms fondly called her home “Greystone,” because of the grey limestone used to build its walls, and took great care with its appearance in the fifty-five years she lived there. 
She bequeathed her home to the Mahoning Valley Historical Society upon her death in 1960 at the age of ninety-five. In her will, Mrs. Arms’ only stipulation about her home was that the first floor remain as it was when she lived there so that future generations would learn about and appreciate those who had helped build the local community.
Vintage Treasures
“Memories of Christmas Past” gives visitors a glimpse of rare, one-of-a-kind collectibles spanning almost two centuries. Most items on display are from the 1800s through the 1960s. Throughout the years, visitors have enjoyed seeing the following treasures:
- Victorian “scrap” trees with authentic Dresden ornaments
- German and Japanese “putz” houses
- Vintage Lionel train sets
- German clockwork “nodding” Santas
- Original German “bellsnickel” candy containers
- American Shiny-Brite ornaments
- Original “Plakie” twirler ornaments
- Historic toys from the nineteenth century
- Original feather trees with hand blown glass ornaments
Visitation
Every year, thousands of visitors from northeast and southern Ohio and western Pennsylvania attend “Memories of Christmas Past.” Currently, the number of people who attend the holiday exhibit is as many as visit the Arms Family Museum all year! Many people are first-time guests who have lived in the area for years but have never visited the museum. Most are dazzled by the breathtaking collectibles on display, and thousands of families have been introduced to the wonderful world of nostalgic, historical Christmas collections. Local businesses whose products have been donated or featured in the exhibit receive the advantage of displaying their promotional materials in the Arms Family Museum for visitors to see and take with them.
