Getting to Know the History of Your Town

• The Putnam County District Library Local History Room has seen significant changes in the past year. Since the main library building was flooded in August 2007 and unable to be used, the Local History Room was moved to the Fort Jennings Branch Library until a new building is completed in Ottawa. Along with our new location we have faced many new challenges.  The collection has been used by patrons from the nearby counties to as far away as Scotland, but many of our regular patrons that visited weekly have chosen to wait until we return to Ottawa.

• Therefore, as a result of the flood and the opportunities I’ve had since the Discover Your Roots workshop at Upper Sandusky, I have taken the opportunity to introduce the Local History Room to my new community by offering not only  genealogical programs but a series of “getting to know the history of your town” programs. The first program I did as a test to see how it would be received in the county had tremendous response.  Although these programs take a great number of hours to research and compose, the reaction of the community to these powerpoint presentations filled with interesting facts and old pictures is very worthwhile. These programs draw in all age groups from junior high students to senior citizens and have been requested by many of the villages in the county. Also, as a result of these programs I was asked by two teachers in the area to work with their junior high students on a Local History and Genealogical project throughout this next school year.

• So far the communities I have worked with have been very gracious in lending the Local History Room their historic picture collections so we can scan them and expand our collection.  While researching just two communities, we have increased the image collection by over 600 pictures. I have met many very interesting people who have been able to help identify old buildings and streets, and tell me some very unique stories about their village. These stories have led me to do more research on these topics and have added greatly to my programs. Many of those attending told me they did not realize that the Local History Room contained this type of information and it has been wonderful to see these people return and look through the collection.