It only seems fitting that the oldest standing commercial building in the village of Morris should become the newest place to be a showcase for the village’s history.
The Morris Historical Society recently acquired their home, the former American Legion at 89 South Broad St., and wants to show it off from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29 at an open house.
Gary Norman, president of the Morris Historical Society, said the society has been around since the early 1970s, when the village celebrated its centennial of incorporation and name change from Louisville. For the last 30 years, the society has met in a room in the cellar of the Morris Public Library and stored items there. More of the collection had been stored at the Butternut Valley Arts and Crafts Center.
“About 10 years ago, I started talking with the mayor, Mike Newell,” Norman said, and asked if he could help find the society a permanent building. Newell was a member of the American Legion in Morris, and the Legion’s membership had become so small that they no longer needed or wanted to maintain a building, so a match was eventually made. The transfer of the property took about a year, and in recent years, renovations got underway.
Norman said the building has a notable history in Morris.
“It once sat up on the corner where the big stone bank building is,” he said. “It was built around 1810, a dry goods store back then, and when it was a tin shop in the 1830s, they moved to the back of the lot, where it now stands.”
Being the oldest commercial building, the society was happy to get it.
Renovations have been gradual. The society’s trustees were able to help generate enough revenue to take on the first stage of work, which was a gallery and meeting space on the main floor and a collections and storage area upstairs.
When visitors come to Sunday’s open house, they will see a first exhibit featuring the early manufacturing history of Morris. There were two cotton mills along the Butternut Creek, as well as the Benjamin Chair factory, including artifacts from them. Later manufacturers were the Linn Tractor and H.W. Naylor, among others. A chronology of the building, and the rolls of honor from the American Legion also will be featured.
Visitors will be taken into the collections room on the second floor, to give an idea of the extent to what the society has acquired over the years.
“We want to show what we’ve done, what we want to do, and how we’re going strong,” Norman said. “We’re happy to add something more to the village. A year ago, we got the Gatehouse Coffee Shop, we have a very active Butternut Valley Arts and Craft Center, Weaver’s Farm Market attracts many to the area, a bank is returning to fill the one recently lost, and now we have a museum.”
After the open house, the Morris Historical Society will be open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and able to host more guest speakers and programs, as well as a place for people to do research.
You can follow the progress the society makes by following www.facebook.com/groups/MorrisHistoricalSociety.