Walking into the newly renovated Granville Historical Society Museum feels less like entering a lifeless archive and more like stepping into a carefully curated invitation to the past—a refreshed space that is bright, accessible, and bursting with stories about Granville’s rich history.
That’s what Evelyn Frolking, chair of development for the refresh project and board member, hoped for.
Heidi Drake, Nannette Maciejunes, Christina Gray. Not shown, Dr. Rebecca Dungan
“The closest analogy I can give you is that before this, the building looked like a grandma’s attic,” Frolking said. “Our goal was to make the exhibit spaces more appealing, more modern—and to capitalize on a public that comes in through the front door, not the back.”
About two years ago, the board of governors decided that the museum needed improvements, with the last renovations taking place nearly 50 years ago in the 1970s.
The refresh project has now been finalized, and it is a complete reimagining of the historical society’s interior. With over $60,000 raised through grants, private donors, and in-kind contributions, the transformation has shifted the tone of nearly every corner of the museum.
A new lobby welcomes visitors with a diverse selection of local history books on display, new carpeting and gutters brighten the space, and even the ash hardwood floors—untouched for nearly 75 years—gleam underfoot.
“We wanted to transform this into not just a modern working museum, but one that is protecting the artifacts and displaying them in attractive ways,” Frolking said.
Solar tint films now shield delicate artifacts from light damage—a crucial addition for the proper preservation of these objects. Other redesigned exhibit spaces create an intentional environment for engagement, something new to the museum.
One standout is the newly re-envisioned mid-century kitchen exhibit, led by Dr. Rebecca Dungan, a seasoned museum expert.
Kitchens were the hub of the house. A vintage stove and mid-century table set the scene, but it’s the new interactive elements that make the exhibit especially unique. Aprons hang ready for play, and a bulletin board invites visitors to leave kitchen memories of their own.
“This exhibit has three goals,” Dungan said. “To give information, to trigger memories and to provide experiences.”
This approach reflects a broader shift in museum philosophy, according to refresh committee member Nannette Maciejunes, emerita director of the Columbus Museum of Art.
“Even art museums have moved toward the interactive,” she said. “It stimulates your memories and how you connect to the history.”
That philosophy is evident in the Robinson Research Center section as well. Added in 2012 and lightly updated during the refresh, it now includes a relaxation area and a video loop of local history, giving guests another platform for learning.
“Between the collections downstairs and the archives upstairs, we’ve got a really comprehensive history of the village and its people,” said Frolking.
May 1, 2025, marked the project’s debut, with an open house that drew an enthusiastic response from community members. The museum plans to keep the updated exhibits open throughout the summer.
The Granville Historical Society’s refresh doesn’t just preserve history—it invites visitors, and most importantly locals, to know more about how everything came to be.
Daniela Gomez Vargas writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.