2025 Events and Exhibits
Events, Programs & Exhibits
2025 Special Events
We have a spectacular schedule of special events and exhibits planned for 2025. Click on the PDF icon to view and download our 2025 Event Brochure!
Mother's Day Tea - Saturday, May 10
A traditional Mother’s Day Tea will be held on Saturday, May 10 at the History Manor in Wauseon. During this popular afternoon event, registered guests are invited to celebrate tea culture from the countries represented in the museum’s “We the People” exhibit.
Presented by the Museum of Fulton County, the Mother’s Day Tea offers guests an opportunity to taste fine teas, homemade scones, luncheon sandwiches, and delicious desserts in a delightful, vintage setting.
“Our Mother’s Day Tea is a perfect time to sip tea, laugh, and create special memories with your daughter, granddaughter, or special friends,” shared John Swearingen Jr., director of the Museum of Fulton County. “As part of our “We the People” exhibit, we continue to celebrate the immigrants that came to Fulton County to make a new life, and our Mother’s Day Tea will highlight tastes of tea from across the sea!”
Guests can register to attend the Mother’s Day Tea at 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. Reservations and prepayment are required since seating is limited for this special event at the History Manor located at 229 Monroe St. in Wauseon. Tickets are $25, and are available for purchase online, at the museum, or by calling 419.337.7922. A 10 percent member discount is available when ordering in person or over the phone. Mother’s Day Tea tickets are non-refundable.
Other upcoming events planned at the Museum of Fulton County include a National Train Day celebration on Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. History-inspired art classes will continue throughout the spring and summer as part of The Artful Academy at the Museum (by reservation only). “Beginning Genealogy 102” will be held on Monday, May 12 at 7 p.m. at the museum. Reservations are required for this free genealogy workshop focused on church, census and courthouse records. Additional event information can be found online at museumoffultoncounty.org/upcoming-events Event tickets are available for purchase online, at the museum, or by calling 419.337.7922.
Celebrate National Train Day on Saturday, May 10 at the Museum
The Museum of Fulton County will be celebrating National Train Day on Saturday, May 10 with model train displays, hands-on activities for children, and the All Aboard! exhibit highlighting the history of trains in Fulton County.
“We’re excited to be joining in the National Train Day celebration again this year with even more model trains running in the lobby and train-themed activities for children,” shared John Swearingen, Jr., director of the Museum of Fulton County. “This will also be the last chance for guests to view our amazing train exhibit in the Worthington Gallery before some of the artifacts and displays move to a new location at the Wauseon Depot!”
Museum guests will certainly be smiling as they watch tiny trains travel ‘round the tracks, through tunnels, and past tiny homes and community buildings. The Swanton Area Model Railroad Club will have a number of train layouts in the lobby including an O-scale trolley layout with moving vehicles and an N-scale layout. Guests of all ages will enjoy looking at these detailed displays and visiting with the train club members.
The All Aboard! train exhibit also includes a working model train display representing a typical Fulton County landscape. Children will enjoy climbing into the playhouse switch/watch tower to view the Wabash and New York Central model train display.
While visiting the museum on National Train Day, there will also be some hands-on activities for children and guests will enjoy touring the popular All Aboard! train exhibit to explore the history of trains in this region. The interactive exhibit features train and depot artifacts, model trains, and hands-on activities focused on the people who worked on and around the railroad.
“Our All Aboard! train exhibit tells the stories of local people involved with the railroad including passengers, depot employees and community members,” Swearingen added. “Guests can learn more about the electric trollies, steam and diesel engines that have crisscrossed Fulton County and have helped our villages to thrive.”
This train exhibit features a variety of railroad-themed artifacts from train depots across Fulton County including tools, signals, lanterns, telegraph machines, and uniforms. Other exhibit highlights include a telegraph morse code game, a playhouse switch/watch tower, a monumental-sized storybook about trains, and a toy train set for toddlers to enjoy.
Admission to the National Train Day event is included with a general admission ticket to the museum. Admission to the Museum of Fulton County is only $8 for adults 16 and up, $7 for seniors, and $3 for children ages 6-15. Members and children under 6 are free. The museum also offers free admission to all active-duty military and veterans and offers discounted $1.00 admission to families with a SNAP/EBT card as part of the Museums for All program. A discount is also available to Sauder Village members. Museum of Fulton County memberships are available for purchase online or at the museum.
The Fulton County Genealogy Group is hosting a free genealogy workshop on Monday, May 12 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Museum of Fulton County in Wauseon. “Beginning Genealogy 102” is the second workshop in a free series open to registered participants.
Presented by members of the FCGG, the “Beginning Genealogy 102” workshop will focus on a variety of research methods. Workshop participants will learn about valuable genealogy websites that can be used for doing genealogical research. Information will also be shared about accessing courthouse, church and census records. This free workshop is open to the public and historical society members.
“During this one-hour class we will discuss a variety of websites and local records that can be used for genealogical research,” shared Carolyn Stilwill, FCGG workshop coordinator. “Time will also be provided to work on a genealogy research plan with experienced mentors.”
While the beginning genealogy workshop is free, pre-registration is required. The class is limited to the first 40 registered participants. To learn more about the workshop and view the genealogy research plan that will be used during the class, visit https://www.museumoffultoncounty.org/upcoming-events Interested individuals can register at the museum, call 419.337.7922 or send a message to info@museumoffultoncounty.org
Additional genealogy events are slated for later this year. The Genealogy Annual Banquet featuring a delicious meal and presentation will be held on Monday, June 9 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the museum. On Monday, November 10, members of the FCGG will present a workshop about searching veteran records.
The Fulton County Genealogy Group’s collection consists of more than 1,300 books and over 200 rolls of microfilm located at the Evergreen Community Library, 253 Maple Street, Metamora, Ohio. Research appointments at the library are available with advance notice by contacting www.fultoncoogs.org/contact-us. The microfilmed records include newspapers for towns in the county through 1910; birth and death records beginning in 1867; marriage records from 1864 (although the county was formed in 1850, a fire in July 1864 destroyed many early records). The collection also includes family histories, county histories, obituaries, tombstone inscription books, as well as a wide variety of other Ohio county records. For additional information regarding genealogical research visit research page of the museum’s website at https://www.museumoffultoncounty.org/research
Beginning Genealogy Workshop May 12 at Museum
EXHIBIT - We The People of Fulton County
To celebrate the 175th anniversary of Fulton County’s founding, an exciting new exhibit is slated to open on October 2 at the Museum of Fulton County. The new “We The People of Fulton County” exhibit will highlight the ten largest groups of immigrants that came to Fulton County to make a new life.
Using mannequins in period clothing, artifacts, quilts, and photographs, stories will be shared of the immigrant families who were registered in the Federal Census between 1850 and 1950. Guests will be encouraged to visit the Spiess Research room to access online genealogy resources and genealogy forms will also be available for families to take home to work on their family tree. The new exhibit will also feature a flag flash card game for children, as well as a guest book and world map for people to record what country their ancestors came from. A look at the culinary history of immigrant families will also be offered with a new cookbook, “The Immigrant’s Table,” published as part of this project. The cookbook is available for purchase online or at the Legacy Gift Shop.
“This new exhibit will encourage guests to think about who they are, where they came from, and why it matters,” shared John Swearingen, Jr., director of the Museum of Fulton County. “The exhibit will explore who our ancestral residents were, their cultural backgrounds, and their motivations to live in Fulton County.”
Created in partnership with the Fulton County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, this new exhibit will be open throughout the anniversary year of the county. Several special events and genealogical society programs are planned for next year to augment the exhibit’s topics. Information about upcoming events will be shared online at museumoffultoncounty.org/upcoming-events
“When we know where we come from, we better understand why Fulton County is distinct from the other 87 counties of Ohio,” Swearingen added. “We look forward to having guests explore this new exhibit and join us throughout 2025 for special programs focused on genealogy, immigrant lands of origin, and the lives of our ancestors once they arrived in Fulton County.”
Admission to the “We The People of Fulton County” exhibit is included with a general admission ticket to the museum.
EXHIBIT - All Aboard! Train Exhibit
A new All Aboard! train exhibit at the Museum of Fulton County allows guests to journey back in time to explore the history of trains in this region. The interactive exhibit featuring train and depot artifacts, model trains, and hands-on activities focuses on the people who worked on and around the railroad.
“Since 1852, electric trollies, steam and diesel engines have crisscrossed the county and helped each village to thrive,” shared John Swearingen, Jr., director of the Museum of Fulton County. “Our new All Aboard! train exhibit shares information about the four railroad company lines that ran through the county including the New York Central, Wabash, Detroit Toledo and Ironton, and the Toledo & Western and Toledo & Indiana electric interurban railroads (cable cars). We are also telling the stories of local people involved with the railroad including passengers, depot employees and community members.
Located in the Worthington Gallery at the museum, this temporary exhibit features a variety of railroad-themed artifacts from train depots across Fulton County including tools, signals, lanterns, telegraph machines, and uniforms. Thanks to the Swanton Area Railroad and Model Train Club, the exhibit also includes a working model train display. Guests will love watching the Wabash and New York Central model trains travel round and round the homes, barns and shops representing a typical Fulton County landscape. Other exhibit highlights include a playhouse switch/watch tower where kids can catch all the action on the model train display, a monumental-sized storybook about trains, and a toy train set for toddlers to enjoy. There is a telegraph morse code game and a variety of other hands-on crafts focused on the railroad history theme.
“Guests exploring the new train exhibit are immersed in railroad history as they meet real people from our past including postmaster Bertha Emmons, Wabash crew member Grover Merillat, telegraph operator Esther Stone, signal operator Alva Shull, and many others,” Swearingen added.
