PAOLI— Artifacts and items of 200 years of historical significance from Orange County are on display and open to the public at the Orange County Historical Museum, located on the northwest corner of the historic Courthouse Square in Paoli.
The Museum is open to visitors for its 2024 Season most Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Other times are available by appointment. No admission is charged, although donations are accepted to help maintain the museum and historic collection.
Maintained by the Orange County Historical Society (OCHS) since 1976, visitors will find memorabilia of the Orange County communities through the years, including rare items associated with the OC Courthouse, early county artifacts, household items, antique clothing, military display, primitive farm tools and woodworking tools, history of the Dailey Rocker, church and school memorabilia, and a rare miniature English Tudor dollhouse with furnishings.
The museum is housed in what was once the private residence of Dr. J.H. Sherrod and his family circa 1885. This was the last private residence on Courthouses Square.
Don’t miss the turn-of-the-century school room displayed upstairs, a recreation of a typical township school at the turn of the 20th Century. is re-created upstairs at the museum, along with a period Doctor’s office.
The OCHS also maintains a small gift shop on the museum’s lower level, which sells various historical books, publications, and keepsakes related to Orange County.
In addition to the Museum, OCHS also owns and maintains the historic Thomas Elwood Lindley House. The home, circa 1852, was built on land granted in 1812 to Jonathan Lindley when he left North Carolina to settle in Orange County. Jonathan was the grandfather of Thomas Elwood Lindley (1825-1900), an influential Quaker. He served in the State Legislature at Indiana’s first Capitol in Corydon. The house is restored to reflect 1860-1869, when it was used as a farm home. 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the historic Lindley House Museum.
The farmhouse is located just off the Hwy. 150 West on Willow Creek Rd. in Paoli is available for tours in season by appointment only.
For more information on the OCHS and its activities or to arrange for a group tour of either the Museum and/or Lindley House, don’t hesitate to get in touch with President Robert F. Henderson at 812 653-1212 or email info@historicorangecounty.org.
