The Richfield Historical Society was founded in 1955 as an outgrowth of the great interest of visitors at the Richfield Reunion. Over the years, meetings such as quilt shows, doll shows, and tool shows have generated great interest.
The planning committee met at the home of piano teacher, Mrs. K. M. Wood, on Broadview Rd. Getting the project underway was Laura Eastwood, Bertha Comstock, Emma Matejka, Sarah Bruaw, Anna Mortimer, Myrtle Haslem and Virginia Carter. Myrtle had started her local newspaper column about that time as well and Virginia had helped to start the first Richfield library where she was the first librarian in what is now the kitchen corner of Fellowship Hall!
We retain the glass display cases which were donated to the historical museum in their first year. The Sykes' store case was donated by Allyn Eastwood and the huge bookcase from Buchtel College was donated by Leslie Hardy of Akron University.
Family historian, Mary Garl Smith, was a researcher, writer and speaker in those early days and it was her granddaughter, Karen Uhr, who donated copies of her research from the 1950s.
In August 2005, Kathy and Don Sidaway donated a Rosewood Melodian. Don, son of Peg and Howard Sidaway, was raised in Dr. Parshall's home during the 1950-1960 period. His mother's love of antiques taught him to appreciate early artifacts of history.
The Historical Society signed a lease with the Township Trustees in 1991 for use of the upper floor of the Old Town Hall as our permanent meeting place and museum. At present, we are fortunate to have access to the entire building. In 2008, the Village of Richfield has re-installed the basement stairway and remodeled the basement area. This affords the Society an efficient work area where research may be conducted comfortably, and additional storage areas The administrative offices and all related activities are downstairs, thus expanding exhibit display space and meeting areas on the main floor.
Our current board members are:
President Joffre Somerville
Vice President Paul Swan
Secretary Susan Loughry
Treasurer Karen Smik
Trustees Kelly Clark, Linda Fleming, Mark Mitchell, Michal Swan
Honorary Trustees Myrtle Haslem, Jan Nagel
Photo Project
We are in the process of putting all of our historic photos on computer. A new Apple iMac computer has been purchased, and the photos are being scanned into the computer’s iPhoto program. The photos are edited, labeled, and described, and faces are being labeled as well. The labels, names, and descriptions can be searched with instant results, and the photos are organized into folders and slide shows. The photos are stored on-line at the Apple MobileMe site, and they can be accessed from any computer. Click here to go to the page. Feel free to visit the site and view our photos of Richfield scenes and citizens. We are adding more photos every day, so check back often to see what’s new.
