The Greene County Historical Museum in Jefferson has lots to offer for everyone.

Historical Society Member and Museum Volunteer Mikki Schwartzkopf says there’s lot of displays ranging from the early 1800s to more modern times, such as a Barbie doll collection, to President Abraham Lincoln and even a display of the inside of a 1900s home. 

She points out almost all of their displays and exhibits have at some time belonged to someone from Greene County. Schwarzkopf encourages children to visit because they have large green dots that can be found throughout the museum that signifies what can be touched and interacted with.

“They can do the laundry as their great-grandmothers did, and they can use an old typewriter, they can talk on telephones, we have a switchboard; and a lot of toys up in the front that their parents and grandparents would’ve played with and they love them too, the kids love playing with them too.”    

Historical Society Board Member Jed Magee does a rotating “mini” display towards the front of the museum to highlight lesser known items. He talks about why he started doing that.

“One of the things I found is how many hidden things we had that people didn’t normally see or find out about, some of them in our backroom in our storage area, some of them in displays that are in the corner area. So I decided, ‘Let’s take some of those things that people don’t normally notice or see, put them up front by our front door,’ so that when people came in they could say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you had these things.’”   

To start the season, there was a display of about 15 antique baby buggies and Magee hopes to rotate new “mini” displays every six weeks or so. The museum is open from 1-4pm Wednesdays and 9am-noon on Saturdays. There is no admission charge and free will donations are accepted. People can also call if they would like a tour outside of those times by calling 515-386-8544.