Operational costs will help us continue to produce community-wide events such as: Civil War Living History Weekend Fort Loramie Christmas Dinner Tawawa Park Annual Cruise-in The Traveling Vietnam Wall Botkins Historical Society Christmas Open House As well as Educational Programming: Civil War Educational Day - (held at the Shelby County Fairgrounds) Manufacturing Day - (held at elementary schools across the county) Pioneer Day - (held at the Shelby County Fairgrounds) Wilson/Lenox House Third Grade Experience

The levy is .25 of a mill over five years. The owner of a home valued at $100,000 will pay $8.17 per year, or about $0.02 a day.

Renewing this levy will allow museums across Shelby County to continue maintaining their facilities. The levy will also help provide for future collection preservation and display, as well as cover the cost for having subscriptions to genealogical material. Operational costs will also allow them to continue to provide educational programs.

All levy funds by law (R.C. 5705.19) must go to the “maintenance and operation of a free public museum of art, science, or history.” Immediate critical uses include providing heat and light during the winter, winterizing the museums and beginning to preserve artifacts from further deterioration. Four of the five museums have no paid staff and no operating money for artifact acquisition or museum programming. For example, the proper preservation of a Civil War battle flag (like the one in Jackson Center) can be very expensive. Each museum has many artifacts of greater and lesser value that also need to be preserved. The funds raised will be divided among the societies by a formula established by the commissioners. The passage of the 2019 levy was life altering for each of the historical societies receiving funds. They were able to fix deteriorating buildings, repair HVAC systems, organize and catalog collections, create displays, partner with local schools for educational programs, and provide opportunities for community members to research family genealogy. A renewal will allow them to keep their financial focus on collecting historical knowledge and wisdom to share with current and future children across the county.

Historical museums in Anna, Botkins, Jackson Center, Fort Loramie, and Sidney will share the funds. Hundreds of school children will continue to receive local history programming on the Civil War, Early Pioneers, Immigration, and other topics. All citizens of the county will benefit from the preservation programs that help identify and preserve important artifacts.

No. The commissioners stopped funding for local non-profits, including historical groups in 2009 due to budget constraints.

The local historical societies have incorporated as one group, the County-Wide Historical Alliance, Inc. Each group has committed to a revenue sharing agreement. Levy proceeds go into the county general fund and are then distributed by the Shelby County Auditor to the County-Wide Historical Alliance, Inc. That group has a separate board of trustees.

The museums in Anna, Botkins, Fort Loramie, Jackson Center, and Sidney have all agreed to share funds generated with any newly-created museum in the county. If one of the societies disbands, its funds will be re-distributed among the other museums. For example: The new Wallace Family Learning and Innovation Center was established via private fundraising; however, since it falls underneath the umbrella of the Shelby County Historical Society, there is no difference in the levy distribution.

Yes, Clark and Logan Counties both have a similar levy in place.

Yes, the Shelby County Historical Society has received 22 awards over the past 23 years from the Ohio Local History Alliance.