A look inside “Vandalia’s best kept secret”
VANDALIA, OH — Unfamiliar to even some longtime residents of Vandalia, the Vandalia–Butler Historical Society offers a variety of opportunities to visitors, with over eight and a half acres to explore.
Comprised of twelve buildings, including the 1840s-era Federal House original to the property, the society hosts bi-monthly open houses, running 1–3 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of the month. These open houses are free to join, and each one reflects a new theme.
This month, the Federal House is filled with instruments of the past, from phonographs and washboards to old guitars and worn violins. One thing that doesn’t change, however, is the society's dedication to preserving and cataloging its resources.
It’s a calling that extends far past spinning wheels and buggies.
“New construction is nice,” Al Tuttle, the historical society’s president, said. “But when you take out a field or forests … you [have] eliminated forage areas for pollinators.”
As part of the Bee City U.S.A. program, the property’s flourishing gardens are for more than color. Promoting the preservation of both past and present, the society passes out seed packets to visitors, as even small plots of plants make a difference.
That sense of impact is what has kept Tuttle going through years of involvement.
“[The society’s goal is] to get it [the property] restored to what’s usable and available to the public,” Tuttle said. “We’re trying to do more to show what life was like back in the 1840s.”
To accomplish this, a team of catalogers meets weekly, while the society cleans and prepares its upcoming display of farm equipment. Until then, the society remains open, inviting guests to take a walk through the past even while the society looks toward its future.
The Vandalia–Butler Historical Society is located at 336 E. Alkaline Springs Rd., Vandalia. It is fully open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays from 12:30–3 p.m. The society welcomes visitors outside those times to enjoy the property outside its buildings.