Upcoming events planned by Niles Historical Society

NILES — An annual dinner meeting and an open house at the Ward-Thomas House and Museum are among the events planned for the upcoming season by the Niles Historical Society.

The open house is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. April 6 at the museum, 503 Brown St., one block off Main Street on the city’s south side.

Society members will serve as volunteer guides for tours of the Ward-Thomas House, an 1862 Italianate-style mansion filled with a collection of more than 4,000 items. Built during the Civil War period by James Ward, an industrial leader whose iron rolling mill was a factor in the growth of Niles, and his wife, Eliza, the house is a stately mansion typical of the period.

The 14 rooms in the house and museum are filled with antique furniture and memorabilia relating to the history of Niles. Among the exhibits is the “Ladies of the White House Gowns” display, made in honor of the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976.

The house was bought in 1887 by J.R. Thomas, who named it “Brynhyfrd.” In 1979 the house and property were given to the city, and the historical society was entrusted by the city to create the museum and re-establish the surrounding four acres into a garden showplace. The house was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in February 1984.

Guided tours are available the first Sunday of each month, or they can be arranged for other times by calling museum at (330) 544-2143.

The meeting

The annual dinner meeting will take place at 6 p.m. April 30 at Ciminero’s Banquet Centre, 123 N. Main St.

The featured speaker will be David Fleming, senior writer for ESPN Magazine, who visited Niles last year while researching material on early local football for his book, “Breaker Boys.”

He interviewed George John and Bill Sullivan about Russ and Herb Stein, who were members of the Pottsville Maroons in 1925, a team that dominated national football that year and were called “the most ferocious team” by football legend Harold “Red” Grange of the Chicago Bears.

Tickets for the dinner meeting are $20 and are available from historical society officers or by calling the museum office.