Local History & Museum Center

The Local History Room & Museum Center is staffed:

Tuesdays:           1 pm – 5 pm

Thursdays:         10 am – 2 pm

                             5 pm – 7 pm

Appointments are available outside those hours. Library users are welcome to make use of the Local History Room without staff, but to get the most out of your visit, please call or email the Local History staff to schedule an appointment at khuffman@seolibraries.org. or call 419-898-7001. Make sure to describe your question, what resources you are interested in, and your desired time. We would love to help, no matter what stage your research is in.

General Policy

  • Materials are non-circulated.
  • Food or drinks are NOT permitted.
  • Users must handle collection materials carefully.
  • A supervising adult must be present when minors are in attendance.

Here is a list of the major resources that are available in the Local History & Museum Center:

  1. A large reference collection including rare and out of print books. A sample includes but is not limited to: Reflections of Rocky Ridge 1830-1989, reprint 1993; Cemetery Inscriptions of Ottawa County, Ohio, pub 1976; Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, & Marines, 1898-1929 25 volumes.
  2. Over 5,000 Oak Harbor and Benton, Carroll, and Salem townships artifacts and documents. A sample includes but is not limited to: Oak Harbor etched glass, Oak Harbor Apple Festival memorabilia, 1861 Civil War musket, a 1878 cast iron Apple Peeler. New items arrive monthly. Displays will change periodically.
  3. Benton, Carroll, Salem (BCS) Oak Harbor High and Middle School memorabilia. A sample includes but is not limited to: yearbooks, school pennants, class pictures, programs, and the in-school publication “The Rocket”.
  4. A database of historical pictures of Oak Harbor along with Benton, Carroll, and Salem townships. This database may be accessed at the Museum.
  5. A database of research documents and articles written and compiled by Local Historian John Liske, A Little of This a Little of That. A sample includes but is not limited to: A list of local Oak Harbor business by address over the years; Oak Harbor local IOOF chapter; Oak Harbor Basket factory, and the Interurban railway. This database may be accessed at the Museum.
  6. Research and papers unique to specific Oak Harbor and local area companies and businesses. A sample of research includes but is not limited to: Oak Harbor Glass Company and details of its etched glass, the J Weller Company, and the Erie Proving Grounds including a Master Thesis by Caroline Dahnke.
  7. A small collection of genealogical materials for research. A complete list may be found on the Oak Harbor Public Library website under Local History and Museum Center.