HISTORICAL SOCIETY Museum holds Liberty's heritage

The museum celebrates a history of coal mining and farming.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LIBERTY -- Tucked behind a small storefront at the Liberty Plaza is a treasure chest packed with examples of the township's rich heritage.
The Liberty Historical Museum is full of antiques, photographs and artifacts that take a visitor back to 1796 when the township land was first surveyed by the Connecticut Land Co.
The township originally had four property owners, including Moses Cleveland, of which the city is named, and Samuel Huntington Jr., the future Ohio governor.
The first settlers were Henry and Jacob Swager in 1798. It was a farming community that began coal mining in the late 1890s to support the steel industry and its Welsh miners.
Operated by the Liberty Historical Society, the museum opened six years ago.
"Everything was in boxes where people couldn't see it," said Carol Faustino, society president. "We just wanted to display it."
Another driving force to create the museum, society vice president Judy McGuire explained, was that pictures from Liberty High School weren't being properly cared for when the new school was constructed.
Thus, the one-story facility has a number of graduation class pictures, including the Class of 1903 with its three members -- Ted Bard, Arthur Cauffield and Bess Van Orsdale. The school now graduates about 150 students.
Farming
The township used to have 12 dairy farms, and the farming industry is represented in the museum. Visitors can see examples of how milking cows were cut rather than tagged for identification.
There is a Thomas Edison gramophone, complete with ceramic cylinders that generated music.
A visitor can view women's fashion of the period, including undergarments, dresses and jewelry. Faustino pointed to curling irons that were headed atop a stove.
In the children's room, dolls from the 1800s, highchairs, cribs and a wooden rocking horse are on display.
Featured in the kitchen is a 1920 electric refrigerator that doesn't make any noise. Society members use it today to cool their soft drinks. The refrigerator is from the Churchill Market, where kids would stop to buy their drinks after school.
"A lot of museums refuse to display things. We don't. We usually don't turn them away," Faustino said.
The museum is open from noon to 4 p.m. the first Sunday of the month. Those who want a tour can contact Faustino at (330) 539-6591.
"We're really flexible," said Faustino, who doesn't live far from the museum and can accommodate anyone who wants a tour.
Liberty Plaza provides the society with free space, but it must pay the utilities and insurance. Faustino said the group is looking for a large donation -- a house in which to move the museum.
The society isn't just a historical group. It sponsored a car show this year to raise funds.
On Nov. 18, the society will have its annual ethnic covered-dish dinner at the museum.
On Jan. 29, the group will have its annual dinner. This year, the society will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Liberty Presbyterian Church at St. Mark's Church Hall, 3560 Logan Way.
yovich@vindy.com