FULTON COUNTY  HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Click here to go the Official Fulton County Historical Society webpages
Established in 1883 the 13th oldest historical 
society in Ohio.  We invite you to visit the
Fulton County Historical Society Museum. 


The first Fulton County Pioneer Society president 
was Colonel Dresden Winfield Huston Howard.

Dresden was a strong supporter and promoter of the perservation of the history of 
our early pioneers and he himself made some impressive contributions. A
brief account of Dresden's life and Fulton County History is told in his eulogy.
Click Here to View Eulogy


 
Above is the  Fulton County Historical Museum 
as of October  2002

  Fulton County Historical Society Museum

    Located at 
229 Monroe Street
Wauseon, OH  43567
  phone: 
419-337-7922
or
Email at
museum@fultoncountyhs.org

 
Museum Hours

 vary according to season of the year and special events, so be sure check their web page at the link next

for the most current information on  hours their facilities are open, scheduling tours and special Historical Society events


Click Here to go to the

Official Fulton County Historical Society Web Pages


The Train Depot is located on Depot Street in Wauseon, Ohio.

The Depot is open for Special Occasions.

The depot is open Tuesday evenings  May through August in conjunction with

Cruise Night in downtown Wauseon.  Located on Depot St. downtown Wauseon, Ohio.

Check the Official Fulton County Historical Society web pages for the currents hours and special events.


The Fulton County Historical Society also maintains

Reighard's Blacksmith Shop, the Heman Canfield Log Cabin and Swan Creek Township Hall at the Fulton County Fair Grounds.  These buildings are open during the County Fair and sometimes for other special events.

Check the Official Fulton County Historical Society webpages
 
1896 Lake Shore & Michigan  Southern Railroad Depot
taken October 2002

 
 
In Memory of 
Walter Phillips Bates
He died August 27, 2004 at the age of 93,
He will be dearly missed by all that knew him

Article published Wednesday, September 1, 2004
In the Toledo Blade, Toledo Ohio

WALTER P. BATES, 1911-2004
Teacher helped preserve history of Fulton County

WAUSEON - Walter P. Bates, a teacher who wrote a history of Fulton County's Chesterfield Township schools, was a former president of the county's historical society, and helped rebuild the log cabin at the county fairgrounds, died Friday in the Fulton County Health Center here. He was 93. 
The family did not know the cause of death. He had heart, lung, and kidney problems, his daughter, Louise Read, said. 

Mr. Bates wrote History of Chesterfield Township Schools 1838-1982 after going through trustees' records to learn how little people had to work with and how much supplies cost, his wife, Mary Jane Bates, said. "He thought it would be lost if he didn't," his wife said. He had 300 copies of his memoirs, Horses to Computer Chips, printed earlier this year and donated them for the historical society to sell. 


-----------------------------------

click book above to get details if interested in acquiring one

He was president of the historical society from 1988 to 1997 and had remained active in it. The book tells stories of growing up on the family farm, including a drive to Seattle in 1929, and the changes in farming and daily life that he saw. "He lived in times that were far different from what the children have grown up in, and he wanted them to know how we had all lived through the Depression and how things had changed," his wife said. 

In 1981, Mr. Bates helped dismantle and rebuild the 140-year-old Canfield Log Cabin at the county fairgrounds, labeling every log so it could be reassembled, his wife said. "Once he found out that there was a log cabin in Fulton County, he was determined to get it," she said. His daughter said he selected furniture and artifacts that are displayed in the cabin. 

Mr. Bates began his teaching career in one-room schools in Fulton and Williams counties after attending Bowling Green Normal College for two years, his wife said. "He loved teaching," his wife said. "Most of all, he loved the kids. He tried to help all he could." He received a bachelor's of education in agriculture and science degree from Ohio State University in 1940 and then taught in the Chesterfield schools. In 1960, he received a master's of education in counseling degree from the University of Toledo. He was a guidance counselor in the Evergreen Local schools until he retired in 1976. 

Mr. Bates was born June 8, 1911, in Chesterfield Township and graduated from Chesterfield Township High School in 1929. He married the former Mary Jane Willson in 1940. He was a lifelong member of East Chesterfield Christian Church, where he held many offices and taught Sunday School. 

Surviving are his wife, Mary Jane Bates; daughter, Louise Read; son, David Bates; sisters, Leota Isley and Viola Weaver; seven grandchildren, & five great grandchildren. 

Visitation is from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in the Edgar-Grisier Funeral Home. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in the East Chesterfield Christian Church. 

The family suggests tributes to the church or to a charity of the donor's choice. 


FULTON COUNTY OHIO
BICENTENNIAL EVENT

 Ohio Bicentennial 
Bell Casting 
was held at the Fulton County Fair 
on August 30/31, 2003



Walter Phillips Bates rang the bell

Click here to see pictures of Walter
at the Bell Dedication Ceremony
The Fulton County Historical Society was established to collect and preserve artifacts and written records pertaining to Fulton County, Ohio.  The society provides accessibility to anyone who wants to examine or study their collections housed at the historical museum, depot, blacksmith shop and log cabin. They are a nonprofit organization that operate through the volunteer efforts of the society members and contributions of others. They have set up "The Pioneer Society Endowment Fund" in hopes of expanding the current museum and to provide a means whereby gifts to Fulton County Historical Society may be held in perpetuity. They accept donations of artifacts such as written histories, genealogies, photos, antiques like; furniture, dishes, clothing, tools, firearms, Indian artifacts, etc. that  have a link to the past of Fulton County. Everyone can help by giving for the future to preserve our past, even if all you have is some time to just visit the museum or become a volunteer. 
Visit soon to see what you are missing, 
you won't be disappointed!
Ruth Brown Campbell donated the building for our Historical Museum in 1967.  She is the lady on the right in the above photo.
 
 
WAUSEON, OHIO
PHOTOS OF THE PAST
Photos are from the Fulton County Historical Museum
 

The Fulton County Historical Museum has a collection 
of old Post Cards and Photos as well as many other 
interesting historic pieces.  They were kind enough 
to allow me to scan some photos of the various
Fulton County Towns and Structures so they could 
be shared with the visitors of the Fulton County 
Genealogical Society Web Page. 

I  hope you enjoy your visit to the past.

"Click Here" 
to go to first page of Wauseon Photos
with Index of other Photo Pages at bottom.

 

Click here to go the Official 
Fulton County Historical Society Webpages
 



This Page Was Last ModifiedThursday, 04-Aug-2011 17:21:58 MDT
Maintained by Mark Lozer, webmaster.
Send E-mail to:  lozer@fulton-net.com