The Bowling Green Historic Preservation Commission, the Wood County District Public Library, and the Wood County Museum are excited to celebrate May as National Historic Preservation Month.
The month celebrates the nation’s heritage through historic places. Preservation is about protecting the sites and structures that represent meaningful history to the community and future generations.
The Bowling Green Historic Preservation Commission will be using this month to bring awareness to local buildings and the histories that have shaped them.
How is BG celebrating Preservation Month?
The HPC has worked with several historic home/building owners to create the city’s second Annual Historic Self-Guided Walking Tour. Access this map, and each building’s history and photo, at https://buff.ly/3GYlB7n.
Start your self-guided tour from any point on the map, but beginning and ending in downtown Bowling Green is recommended. Each participating property will display a “History Lives Here” yard sign indicating their participation in the month-long tour, and a QR code to the map which explains the history of each building.
As a reminder, the HPC celebrates local historic buildings each month, not just for National Preservation Month. If you want to nominate a building, please consider submitting your ideas here https://bit.ly/3vKjrSb.
The HPC was established in 2019 to help preserve, promote, and educate the community about local history and historic buildings in Bowling Green. To learn more about the HPC, visit www.bgohio.org/HPC.
Several partner events are being planned with Wood County District Public Library and the Wood County Museum.
Wood County District Public Library events:
Wednesday, May 1 at 2 p.m.: Genealogy Chats in Meeting Room C. The Genealogy Chats are a monthly discussion and brainstorming group for anyone who loves genealogy research and the stories it uncovers. Come with a fun story to share, ask others for help with a particularly difficult research puzzle, or hear about new research tools that others have discovered. This session is open to new researchers and seasoned pros alike.
Friday, May 17 at 2 p.m.: Gossip, Gags & Guidance: Wood County’s Social Pages in Meeting Room C. Social media has obviously changed our world, but we sometimes forget that similar social interactions have been around for generations. Come and listen as Local History Librarian Marnie Pratt discusses how newspapers provided communities with “social media” long before the internet was even an idea.
Some resources (all can be found at wcdpl.org/LocalHistory):
- New newspaper resources, including NewsBank, which features a Sentinel-Tribune collection filled with Bowling Green history through local news, events, and people. Patrons can search archived editions and current editions.
- Also new to the library is The Ohio Collection on Newspapers.com, which gives patrons access to digital versions of the Sentinel-Tribune from 1880-2021, as well as other newspapers around Ohio.
- Patrons also can view the library’s Wood County Historical Newspapers, which is a database of digitized
historical newspapers (dating back to 1866) from several cities within Wood County, including Bowling Green, Bradner, North Baltimore, Pemberville and Risingsun.
The library will also be hosting events into June, featuring local history:
Wednesday, June 5 at 2 p.m.: Genealogy Chats in Meeting Room C.
Saturday, June 8 at 10 a.m.: Boomtown Walking Tour, meeting in the Atrium. Take a tour through history and learn about some of the famous places and faces of Wood County’s Boomtown Era with this informative walking tour.
Friday, June 14 at 2 p.m.: Finding Your Family Tree: Introduction to Genealogy in Meeting Room C. Ready to start researching your family history, but don’t know where to start? Local History Librarian, Marnie Pratt, will provide you with some tips, tricks, and suggestions to get your research off in the right direction.
For more information, call 419-352-5050 or email woodref@wcdpl.org.
The Wood County Museum events (located at 13660 County Home Road):
Friday, May 3 at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Come out to the Wood County Museum for free museum admission every first Friday. New this year are free kid-friendly make & take crafts on Free First Friday Days. Plant-a-flower craft while supplies last. Free First Fridays are presented by Visit Bowling Green, Ohio; Visit Perrysburg; and Rossford Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Friday, May 3 through Sunday, May 5: Early Ohio Along the Portage & Lady Brandeberry’s Ball. Enjoy free family fun on the grounds of the Wood County Museum at the Early Ohio on the Portage Living History/Reenactment for a living history event featuring costumed interpreters portraying life during the exploration of the Northwest Territory and the Ohio Country, especially along and near the Portage River in Wood County. Experience Early Settlers, Native Americans, Military and Political Growth, and Home Life Activities. Featured will be pioneer and early American life reenactors from 1750s to 1860s. Saturday, May 4, there will be a ball/dance (Lady Brandeberry’s Ball) at 6 p.m. and an evening lantern tour at 8:30 p.m. Schools and groups are welcome on Friday, May 3, email museum@woodcountyhistory.org to schedule a school group.
Event Schedule: May 3 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; May 4 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., then ball at 6 p.m. and lantern tours at 8:30 p.m.; May 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Co-Sponsored by the Wood County Museum & Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor, with support from Visit BG Ohio. A food truck, Big Daddy’s Sausage House, will be available for food and beverage sales through the weekend. Restrooms also available on site. Free parking for event. For participant (reenactor) registration, contact Kurt Harris at 419-494-2876 or email kurtharris53@yahoo.com
All event details at www.maumeevalleyheritagecorridor.org or by the MVHC’s Facebook page and at woodcountyhistory.org or by following the Wood County Museum on social media.
May 18 at 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Join the Wood County Museum and Safe Communities of Wood County for the second Annual Safety Fair & Cruise-In. This is a free community event with: service vehicles, fire trucks, police cruisers, first responders, tractors, construction equipment, a safety fair, activities and bounce houses for kids, and a car cruise-in (all cars welcome), plus more. We will also have a quiet sensory room located inside the museum.
The sponsors are USA Insulation, Edwin & Irma Wolf, Visit Perrysburg, Habitec Security, Southeastern Equipment Co. Inc., Wright Tire & Automotive. Food trucks will be on site: Toledo Chuck Wagon, The Hot Dawg Hut, & BD’s Lemonade King.
Saturday, May 20 at 6 p.m.: Flight of Tea & Chocolates (ticket required). The museum will pair three flights of loose-leaf teas with some gourmet chocolates from Franz Knipschildt, then discuss complementary, contrasting, and enhancing flavors of the tea and chocolate.
If you or your business would like to participate with an information table or sponsor, reach out to the Wood County Museum at marketing@woodcountyhistory.org or to Safe Communities of Wood County at swiechm@bgsu.edu for more details.
For more information, call 419-352-0967 or check out the website at woodcountyhistory.org.
