The Ashland County Historical Society (ACHS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing the rich history of Ashland with both the community and its visitors. 

Founded as a corporation on May 26, 1952, the ACHS has always had the goal to, “create that sense of place that we are part of that bigger story, [and] our stories help shape Ohio history,” said Sara Fisher the newest member of the ACHS family and executive director. 

Ashland County is a huge puzzle, with lots of depth, and ACHS helps give the community different historical pieces that we would never have found on our own, helping us understand the culture and people around us. 

According to Jennifer Maesquette, previous director of ACHS, one of society’s main passions is to share stories that may not be as popular. Some of these stories have names of those very popular in history like Jonny Appleseed, President James Garfield, the Studebaker Car Company, and the Farmers Bank.  

The ACHS houses not just the stories but many artifacts from these moments in time as well.  

Maequette said, “We try to keep the stories of those people [alive by] keeping artifacts from their homes, lives, travels, and contributions to society.” 

Unlike most museums these artifacts aren’t hidden away and aren’t super expensive to see. The ACHS is proud of their collection and open Tuesday-Friday with both guided and self-guided tours.  

Prices vary from $3-$15 and children under the age of twelve get in free.  

“Part of our mission here at ACHS is not just to preserve history, but to make history come alive and we want people to come be part of our history,” said Maequette.  

The ACHS has some traveling artifacts that they take into the schools and community to not only tell the stories, but to show what happened too. An example is the traveling one room schoolhouse antiquities. These items are taken into the schools and shown to students learning about the history of school and how it has evolved.  

Speaking of change, Ashland’s atmosphere hasn’t changed much since its founding.  

Ashland County has always been a quiet place full of friendly and driven people. In fact, Fisher labels it as, “The headquarters of nice people.” 

Maequette said, “People have roots here, they move away and want to come back … I think that the Historical Society is important for keeping those stories alive, [and] for making sure those people in our community are aware of what our community has always been like.” 

Other ways the ACHS supports the community, and their knowledge of history is with different events and programs they run yearly.  

On the first Tuesday of every month, at Ohio Fire, they host trivia. 

This event is open to a maximum of 100 people. They also host many speakers at Freer home. Some upcoming dates are March 27, April 23 May 29, and June 26. 

Guided Walking Tours at cemeteries, manners, downtown and more are also offered. On Halloween, ACHS hosts an open House at the Freer Home on October 16-18, 25, and 26.  

This event is family friendly and interesting to everyone.  

The Ashland Historical Society believes that the storytellers of our past help shape our future. Maequette said, “Here at the Historical Society what we try to do is to preserve history by collecting the stories, artifacts, the importance of the people.”