| Predecessor | Muskingum County Pioneer Association Old Settlers Association |
|---|---|
| Formation | 4 March 1890 |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Purpose | Preserving the history of the Zanesville and Muskingum County region of Ohio |
| Location |
|
| Services | Maintains historical documents and large, representative collection of Weller Pottery. Operates Dr. Increase Mathews House and Stone Academy |
| Website | muskingumhistory |
The Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County, also known as the Zanesville Historical Society, is an organization located in Zanesville, Ohio, in the United States, with the mission of preserving the history of the Zanesville and Muskingum County region of Ohio. It is a non-profit entity which operates several important historic sites in and around the Zanesville, Ohio, area, including the Dr. Increase Mathews House, built in 1805 by a founder of the town; [1] and the Stone Academy, erected in 1809 as a possible state capitol, which was also a meeting place for abolitionist societies, [2] and once the home of writer Elizabeth Robins, who wrote about it. [3] The Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County received a Preservation Merit Award from the Ohio Historic Preservation Office Award in 1993 for its work restoring and preserving the Stone Academy. [4]
Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located 52 miles (84 km) east of Columbus. The population was 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Zanesville anchors the Zanesville Micropolitan Statistical Area and is part of the Columbus-Marion-Zanesville Combined Statistical Area
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Of the fifty states, it is the 34th largest by area, the seventh most populous, and the tenth most densely populated. The state's capital and largest city is Columbus. Ohio is bordered by Pennsylvania to the east, Michigan to the northwest, Lake Erie to the north, Indiana to the west, Kentucky on the south, and West Virginia on the southeast.
Abolitionism in the United States was the movement which sought to end slavery in the United States, active both before and during the American Civil War. In the Americas and western Europe, abolitionism was a movement which sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and set slaves free. In the 17th century, enlightenment thinkers condemned slavery on humanistic grounds and English Quakers and some Evangelical denominations condemned slavery as un-Christian. At that time, most slaves were Africans, but thousands of Native Americans were also enslaved. In the 18th century, as many as six million Africans were transported to the Americas as slaves, at least a third of them on British ships to North America. The colony of Georgia originally abolished slavery within its territory, and thereafter, abolition was part of the message of the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s in the Thirteen Colonies.
It is one of the oldest historical societies in the state, chartered March 4, 1890, as the successor organization to the Muskingum County Pioneer Association and the Old Settlers Association. [5] It was reorganized in 1924, and exhibitions were re-opened to the public in Memorial Hall. [6]
The Society maintains a vast number of historical documents. [7] Among these are the journal and papers of Dr. Mathews, a pioneer who first explored the area in 1798. The papers were presented to the Society in 1943 by a descendant. [8] The society also has the papers of Thomas Merritt (born 1759), a New Englander who was commissioned to serve in the loyalist Queen's Rangers in 1782 in the American Revolution, and who served as a Major of Canadian forces in the War of 1812. [9] The Society owns documents such as land grants or military commissions signed by George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and Abraham Lincoln. [10]
The War of 1812 was a conflict fought between the United States and the United Kingdom, with their respective allies, from June 1812 to February 1815. Historians in Britain often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars; historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right.
George Washington was an American political leader, military general, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Previously, he led Patriot forces to victory in the nation's War for Independence. He presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 which established the U.S. Constitution and a federal government. Washington has been called the "Father of His Country" for his manifold leadership in the formative days of the new nation.
John Adams Jr. was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain and served as the first vice president of the United States. Adams was a dedicated diarist and regularly corresponded with many important figures in early American history, including his wife and adviser, Abigail. His letters and other papers serve as an important source of historical information about the era.
The world's "largest and most representative collection" of Weller art pottery was donated to the Society in 1958. Weller operated in Zanesville until 1948. [11]
