MVHS|The Arms Family Museum of Local History|MVHS Archival Library|Business & Media Archives of the Mahoning Valley

               

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The Mahoning Valley Historical Society

Interpreting Valley History for More than 130 Years

Regarded as one of the premier local historical societies in the country, The Mahoning Valley Historical Society was established in 1875 to preserve and share the history of the Mahoning Valley and its people.  With its vast collections that include tens of thousands of individual objects, the Historical Society works together with local history organizations throughout the region to tell this important story.

Currently, the Historical Society makes its home at the 1905-built Youngstown estate of Olive and Wilford Arms, where it maintains and exhibits its collections:

n Greystone, the spectacular Arts & Crafts-style home donated to the Historical Society by Olive F.A. Arms with most of its contents intact, is one of the Midwest's most architecturally important residences of the era.  Converted to The Arms Family Museum of Local History in 1964, the first floor displays original furnishings, fixtures, and decorative arts.  Located in the Wick Avenue Historic District (on the National Register of Historic Places), Greystone is the single most valuable object in the collection.

n The second floor of Greystone has exhibit galleries that feature the history of the Mahoning Valley from prehistoric to present times.  Given the limited space, exhibitions are rotated in order to showcase different aspects of the collection.  The lower level has been converted to the Anne Kilcawley Christman Hands-On History Room where activities for children and parents include interaction with real artifacts and computer-based learning programs.

n The Mahoning Valley Historical Society Archival Library is located in the estate's carriage house, also home to the administration offices.  Converted into a climate-controlled research library and archive in 1983, the building holds tens of thousands of items that relate to individuals, families, businesses and organizations in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

n An unprecedented collection of radio and television history, the Business and Media Archives of the Mahoning Valley is composed largely of the archives of WKBN Broadcasting Corporation, spanning the life and work of Youngstown native Warren P. Williamson, Jr., an industry pioneer. Under the Historical Society's management since 1999 and part of the permanent collection since 2006, the Business and Media Archives contains American history (1926-2000) on vinyl, film and tape and is possibly the most complete regional media archive in the nation.

n While most items in the collection are donated in smaller lots than the Arms or WKBN collections, there are two substantial collections of note.  The Benjamin Franklin and Mary McGeehan Wirt Collection includes ethnographic material, fine arts, curiosities and a noteworthy book collection from this prominent Youngstown couple's 19th century travels around the globe.  The 10,000-object prehistoric stone tool collection, the Lynn Calvin Collection was discovered locally.

n Other donations include photographs and drawings from the Mahoning Valley's major steel producers, the International Institute of Youngstown collection and the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation Archive.  In addition government records from Mahoning County, the City of Youngstown and Mill Creek Park are on permanent loan.

 

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society educates and promotes an interest in the history of the Mahoning Valley by collecting, preserving, and developing material representative of the people who have inhabited the region.

 

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