A recent rainy day left me at loose ends. It’s hard to be an outdoorsy chick when the rain sets in. So I set out to a couple of local places that I’ve long wanted to visit but never had time to see.
On that list was the Southeast Ohio History Center in Athens. Located in a 1916 church on the National Register of Historic Places, the History Center is lovely just for its architecture. The sanctuary is pretty and is actually still used as a church every Sunday.
The upstairs is now a genealogy library and part of the downstairs is gallery and gift shop space. Some of the exhibits are permanent while others rotate. The most fascinating was about the former Athens Lunatic Asylum, known locally as the Ridges. The grounds were designed to resemble a park with ponds and trails, flowers and trees that doctors hoped would assist patients in recovering their mental health. With its own dairy, livestock and vegetable gardens, the place was self contained and provided patients opportunities to help run the place.
Despite the idyllic surroundings, some truly terrible things went on here. It was an asylum after all. It operated from 1874 to 1993 and there are some truly fascinating stories from this place. The History Center did a nice job telling some of those stories and even included some contemporary photos of the Ridges that were made by local amateur photographer Kenner Bush. Oh, and there were a couple of references to people from my home in Vinton County (you can read about them in the pictures below).
You’ll also find here an exhibit on local bricks, an amazing collection of photographs, an exhibit on World War I and some other fun things. There’s not much for kiddos but there’s a lot for a grown ups, especially the history buffs among us.
I didn’t take my camera out in the rain so I have no outside pictures and just a few phone pics but you get the idea.
I’m a fan of the roadside oddity. This week I visited one close to home – the Paul A. Johnson Pencil Sharpener Museum in Logan. This is a tiny, tiny museum for a real big collection.
I’ve done a fair amount of wandering this summer. If money and time allowed I would wander somewhere at least once a week but then I suppose it wouldn’t be so special.
Standing on the observation deck of the Duquesne Incline, watching the city awaken and change with the rising sun reminded me of the importance of saying “yes.”
Roadside attractions are part of the fun of any road trip. Yes, sometimes they’re corny and a little pointless but a good roadside attraction will often rank one of the most memorable parts of your trip.
They also have a petting zoo on site (which we didn’t tour), a handful of gift shops and a wealth of novelties to look at.
