Historic Lancaster - Museums and Galleries

Lancaster is home to three unique museums, each of which is located in an historic home: the Georgian Museum, the Sherman House, and the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio in the Reese-Peters House. A fourth museum, The Ohio Glass Museum, opens in 2003.

Visit the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio and enjoy the magnificent 1835 Reese-Peters House, a restored Greek-Revival mansion that showcases the American Decorative Arts and features a Gallery of the work of local artisans.

Step back into time as you tour the elegant mansion that was home to wealthy entrepreneur Samuel Maccracken, and is now the Georgian Museum. The museum is filled with artifacts of "the good life" in Lancaster circa 1832.

Perhaps not as grand but just as interesting is the wooden structure known as the "Little Brown House on the Hill." This is the Sherman House, birthplace of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman and his younger brother Senator John Sherman, and once home to eleven children and four adults.

The museums are just a short distance apart, and visitors can walk between them. All museums are open to the public from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The museums are closed on most holidays. Admission to the Reese-Peters House is free. There is a nominal charge to enter the Sherman House and the Georgian.

Sherman House Museum 137 East Main Street (740) 687-5891 This early frame house is preserved, together with its later, brick front section, as a Registered National Landmark that is part of the Civil War Discovery Trail. Here, the city of Lancaster commemorates the two Sherman brothers, William Tecumseh and John, who were born in this house, along with nine brothers and sisters. The Sherman House is one of the few examples of New England-style architecture in Lancaster. In an area where most settlers came from the southern and middle Atlantic states, Charles Sherman hailed form Norwalk, CT, where stone or brick construction was rare. Sherman built his home in the New England tradition. The wooden house was known as "The Little Brown House on the Hill." Although humble in comparison to the mansions that surround it, the Sherman home was the center of intellectual life and hospitality in 1800's Lancaster. The original section contains the restored dining room, the master bedroom, and the children's bedroom. The home was enlarged in 1816 to give the family of 13 more living space, in particular a study for father Charles Sherman, and a parlor where one might imagine that mother Mary Sherman was able to enjoy a few quiet moments. The second floor features Civil War memorabilia, and a some personal belongings of the Sherman family, including the family album quilt, and two examples of Mary Sherman's silk on silk needlework. The front brick exterior was added later, when the Sherman family was no longer living there.

The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio 145 East Main Street (740) 681-1423 "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful." These are the words of William Morris, 19th century British craftsman, designer, writer and poet, and a founder of the Arts and Craft movement. The Arts and Crafts Movement refers to the efforts of a group of craftsmen, artists, designers and architects who first aimed to raise the status of the applied arts to that of the fine arts. In 1877 in England, Morris gave the first public lecture on "The Decorative Arts." Today in Lancaster, the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio fosters knowledge, enjoyment, and appreciation of the American Decorative Arts, and supports the work of present day Ohio craftsmen and artisans. With its Museum in this historic mansion, the Arts Center celebrates the architecture and heritage of the Reese-Peters House. The Reese-Peters House, which was built in 1835 by William James Reese, is an excellent example of Greek-Revival Architecture. The house contains many original examples of the Decorative Arts, including a collection of furniture in the style of Charles Locke Eastlake, an associate of William Morris in the revival of hand craftsmanship. Visitors will enjoy the elaborate wall coverings, and the beautiful wood work and plaster work. Renovations are in progress in portions of this three-story house, but much of it has already been restored, and can be viewed in its original Greek-Revival glory. The Decorative Arts Museum includes both objects of the past in the Reese-Peters home, and a Gallery to showcase contemporary work by artists who use the traditional Decorative Arts media. In the Gallery, from September 27, 2002 through January 5, 2003, visitors to the Museum can enjoy two exhibits, "Seven Contemporary Ohio Potters" and "The Tradition of Ohio Pottery." The Gift Shop, which is located in the original dining room of the Reese-Peters House, is one of the most beautiful museum shops in America. Visitors can purchase original work by Ohio artists, and choose from many kinds of American Decorative Arts gifts.

The Georgian Museum 105 East Wheeling Street (740) 654-9923 The majestic Georgian is the cornerstone of Lancaster's Historic Square 13. The original owner, entrepreneur Samuel Maccracken, traveled in Europe to raise funds for the expansion of the Ohio Canal system. Upon the return from one of his many trips, Maccracken engaged local builder Daniel Sifford to build a family home similar to the stately mansion of the Lord Mayor of London, complete with fluted Ionic columns that support the massive west portico. As you admire those columns, consider that at an entire tree, taken from the surrounding forest, forms the center of each. The Georgian is as spectacular inside as it is from without. The prosperous and influential Maccracken spared little expense to furnish his home, which was perhaps the most impressive in the city. Visitors to the Maccracken mansion included historic figures Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John Marshall, and DeWitt Clinton. Present-day visitors can tour the same grand and comfortable rooms that these distinguished gentlemen enjoyed, and view the many authentic period furnishings, some of which were collected by the Maccrackens in Europe, and others that were custom made by local cabinet makers of the era. The descendants of the Maccracken family have generously allowed these furnishings to be displayed. Also through the generosity of local donors, visitors can view a large collection of antique dollhouse furnishings, a display of Elijah Pierce wood carvings, and a collection of numerous jade and ivory pieces. Visitors can also see a collection of world-famous handmade art glass that was made in the Lancaster area from 1943 to 1961 by master glass blowers and Swedish emigrants Carl and Stephen Erickson. Many items of national historic interest are also on display at the Georgian.

The Ohio Glass Museum 126 West Main Street Lancaster has long been home to the glass industry because of the area's abundance of natural glass and sand. Many glass companies, both industrial and art glass, have located in this area. In 2003, The Ohio Glass Museum will open at 126 W. Main St., to celebrate this heritage and become the fourth unique museum in downtown Lancaster. Exhibits will include the history of glassmaking, with items of interest from the Anchor Hocking, Lancaster Glass, and Erickson Glass companies, as well as other traveling exhibits.