Harrison News-Herald Staff Writer
SCIO — Since it was founded in 1995, the Scio Museum has been dedicated to maintaining historical memorabilia, photos, and displays that tell the stories of Scio and surrounding communities.
The museum, which is housed in a yellow brick home at the intersection of Main and Carrollton streets, was founded by Dee Ann Horstman, Harry Horstman, and the Scio Development Committee, Inc.
Dee Ann Horstman explained that many of the displays in the museum contain memorabilia from Scio Pottery, once the largest producer of whiteware in the world, and supplied such retailers as J.C. Penny’s, Sear’s, Woolworth’s and Montgomery Ward. The plant was constructed in 1919, as an offshoot of the Albright China Company in Carrollton.
However, the plant was liquidated following the stock market crash 10 years later, and sat idle for a few years until a potter from East Liverpool, Lewis Paul Reese, happened upon the abandoned plant while out rabbit hunting, and decided to start his own business there.
In 1947, Horstman said, part of the plant was destroyed in a fire. “But the reconstruction event became extremely newsworthy, with a movie, Scio Ohio, and a special edition in Life magazine, telling this storybook ending of the community and America joining together towards its rapid recovery and reopening in 1948,” she explained. A book, Scio Pottery, was also written about this recovery.
For years, Scio Pottery was the largest employer in Harrison County, with nearly 1,400 people working there. For perspective, the present population of the county is about 14,500. The plant closed in 1985. The plant is now home to the Scio Packaging Company.
Pottery from the plant has become highly collectible, and recent sets have sold for over $500, said Horstman. The Scio Museum has the largest public display of Scio Pottery in the world.
The museum also houses memorabilia from Scio College, originally founded as the Rural Seminary in Harlem Springs in 1857. The institution relocated to Scio, which was then called New Market Station, because railroad lines provided student transportation. The college was renamed New Market College, and eventually changed its name to Scio College when the town changed its name. Notable graduates of the college included Mary Jobe Ackley, a world-renowned anthropologist, and L. J. Smith, founder of the L.J. Smith Stairway Company.
“Because of the oil boom in Scio in 1888-89, conditions in the area were not conducive to a favorable student lifestyle,” Horstman explained. “The village became a boom town that brought undesirable buildings and people to the area, so the college eventually relocated, with the School of Pharmacy moving to University of Pittsburgh, and the rest to Mount Union College.”
The school buildings on College Street were demolished, and the land was purchased by L.P. Reese who made it available for sale to his pottery employees.
Scio became a boomtown in 1887, 1888, and 1889, when oil was discovered under the village and surrounding areas. But only some of the oil in the Berea layer of rock formations was accessible at the time, because of limited drilling techniques.
“So after that oil was tapped, the boom was over,” said Horstman. Today, with newer technology, power plants, fractionation facilities, and miles of pipelines have sprung up in the village and surrounding areas.
Exhibits about the Scio Oil Boom can also be seen in the museum.
Other displays in the museum include a room dedicated to American veterans, memorabilia from Scio High School and Jewett Scio High School, hats from Pearle Menkel’s Main Street millinery shop, items from closed churches, and items from the village’s past, such as typewriters, record players, radios, vintage clothing, an antique dresser set, and a collection of plates celebrating the Federation of Women’s Clubs in America.
According to Horstman, the building that houses the museum was purchased by a friend who wished to keep school photos and memorabilia available for future reference, and the museum is funded today thanks to donations and a small income from a CD. Horstman is the curator, and she is assisted by docents Cindy Spiker, Peggy Harrison, Lois Wright, Trish Copeland, and Vicki Chrisman.
It’s important, Horstman says, for people to “know that their village was an important part of America’s history,” and to know that “past pride in your community was a moving force for its success, and the results of that can be seen at the museum.”
At present, visiting hours at the museum are by appointment, and entry is free, though donations are appreciated. To make an appointment, please call 740-945-2172 or 740-945-4844.
