Lorain County Historical Society & Hickories Museum

The Lorain County Historical Society was organized on January 26, 1889, at the home of Mrs. W. E. Miller by members of the Lorain County Centennial Loan Association. The latter was formed in 1888 to develop an exhibit of objects representative of Lorain County for display at the Ohio Centennial Celebration in Columbus in 1888. The efforts of this group of women sparked an interest in the preservation and exhibition of objects and materials from the county's pioneer period, and in 1889 they formed the Lorain County Historical Society.

The Society currently provides educational programs and activities to varied audiences throughout Lorain County. These include: occasional publications, lectures, workshops, museum tours and outreach programs (traveling suitcase, slide, PowerPoint, and living history presentations). In addition, the Society has sponsored the development of a local genealogical chapter, County Preservation Network, and an informal association comprised of representatives from all of the other historical and genealogical organizations in the county called the Inter Society. Also operates a research library and has archives available to interested researchers.

The society today is a multi-dimensional organization. Believing that an understanding of the past is critical to building a successful future. The current LCHS mission is to serve all persons and organizations interested in Lorain County's past, present and future by: collecting, preserving, interpreting and presenting the history of Lorain County.