OMA Award Spotlight -Trumbull County Historical Society

Recognizing excellence in Ohio museums during Arts and Humanities Month

To help celebrate October as Arts and Humanities Month, and to kick-off the call for nominations for this year's OMA awards, we'll be highlighting our 2017 OMA Award of Achievement winners throughout the month with our OMA Award Spotlight. 

The Awards of Achievement are presented to reflect the outstanding quality and caliber of work by Ohio museums and their professionals in two categories: Institutional Achievement Awards and Individual Achievement Awards.

Nominations for these awards are incredibly detailed. This in-depth process helps to illustrate how these institutions and individuals have gone “above and beyond” the normal call of duty to support their institution, serve their public and advance the cause of the museum community.

Each year, the review panel is overwhelmed by the outstanding projects, innovative programming and dedication to our field as exhibited in each of the institutional and individual nominations. Congratulations again to each of our award winners! 

Today' we'll be featuring our winner for the 2017 award for Best Community Partnership under $500,000.


Trumbull County Historical Society - Historic Building Recognition Project

The Trumbull County Historical Society’s Historic Building Recognition Project is an excellent example of place-making through partnership and community building, that has resulted in a deeper understanding of the value of history within one of Warren’s oldest and most blighted neighborhoods.

The project created a partnership between the historical society, the Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, the local community development corporation, and community funder Trumbull 100, to provide research reports, historic site plaques and neighborhood walking tours in Warren’s Garden District – an area with historically significant buildings once owned by the wealthy industrial elite, but now a place where anyone under 40 has only experienced economic decline.

In total, research reports were completed for 35 properties, with 33 historic site plaques awarded to the Garden District area.

The impact of this project on local residents has been crucial to the program’s success. Since the project’s completion, and by word of mouth, the Trumbull County Historical Society has received 14 additional applications from residents who want to understand the history of their home.

So much more than an organization advocating for the preservation of an old neighborhood, this was truly a partnership that brought a community together and used the power of history to inspire pride of place for its residents – who are now better equipped to advocate for the rich culture of their neighborhood.


Did your museum have an impactful partnership during the 2018 season? Be sure to nominate it for the 2018 award for Best Community Partnership! Learn more here.

Support OMA with your
tax-deductible donation!

A contribution to the Ohio Museums Association will help us continue to provide important programs and services to Ohio’s Museums.