Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum completes renovation
Jennifer Bush, director of the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, stands near a display case with local advertising items in the newly remodeled lobby of the museum. The remodel began in late October and included new carpet, paint, wallpaper and redesigned lobby. (Jen Jones)
Last year, in late October, staff at the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum in Roscoe Village began the huge undertaking of boxing up the valuable artifacts in the entire museum. “We were closed in January and February for the renovation and opened the first two weeks in March for our Playground of Color display, then had to close again, due to the COVID-19 virus,” said Jennifer Bush, director of the museum.
“We completely changed the lobby area. The reception desk is now where the gift shop was and the area where the reception desk was is now a display of local advertising items,” Bush said. “The advertising industry started here in Coshocton and we wanted people to realize that as soon as they came in. We want to grab their attention and get them excited to see what else we have.”
The display includes an old printing press and the first burlap “advertising” bag that was made on the press for Cantwell Shoes. The display case includes the tools needed to print a picture onto trays and other items and also several trays that were made here in Coshocton.
“Our Native American room has not changed much. We are working on a new display for that room that will be ready in a few years. The Early Ohio Exhibit focuses on the Ohio River Valley. We have one of the earliest maps of the Ohio River Valley,” Bush said.
“The museum was built in 1979 and this is the first update that has been done. We replaced the 1970s orange carpet, the wallpaper and painted the ceilings. Several lights were upgraded, too,” Bush said. “The lobby looks so warm and inviting now.” The upgrades were possible with money from the Johnson-Humrickhouse Foundation, Coshocton Foundation, Rotary and many private donations from the community.
Bush said they are still working on finishing the information cards that go in each display. “Hopefully, by fall, those will be done. Each item needs to be researched, the cards written, edited, sized and laminated. It’s a huge project. And we have to remember which card goes with which item.”
The staff at the museum and many volunteers had to carefully pack and store every item in the building. All of the display cases had to be moved. “We couldn’t have done this without all the help we got from volunteers. Some of these items are priceless and it’s a worry to move them. But we got lucky – we only had two minor casualties with everything we moved and we found some really cool stuff as we were digging in the collections that had been stored.”
The museum is open Tuesday – Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, children 5- 18 years is $4 and a family (two adults and children) is $15. Children under 5 are free and the museum is not accepting any group tours now, due to the coronavirus. Every Sunday, residents of Coshocton County are admitted free.
Category: Arts & Entertainment
