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Caitlyn Clark of Greenville has been picked to be new director of the Mercer County Historical Society.
CELINA - A historian and writer with an abiding passion for seminal events that shaped the trajectory of the area and nation has been chosen to helm the Mercer County Historical Society.
Caitlyn Clark of Greenville assumed her new part-time role as historical society director on June 1. She will also continue working as the capital campaign manager of the Darke County Historical Society and the Garst Museum, home to The National Annie Oakley Center, in Greenville.
She was selected from a pool of 14 applicants, according to Mercer County Historical Society members, who enthusiastically introduced Clark at an event held in the county historical museum in Celina.
The members highlighted Clark's "extensive historical and research experience from her years of service at the Garst Museum" as well as her published historical articles and specialized research in the Lewis and Clark expedition.
"I am a very avid historian when it comes to Lewis and Clark, even to the point where I published a book, "From the Treaty City to the Western Sea: Lewis and Clark in Greenville, Ohio," Clark said. "I just headed the installation of a Lewis and Clark exhibit at the Garst Museum in Darke County."
Versed on a pair of legendary battles that took place in the area now known as Fort Recovery, Clark has participated in a few archaeological digs, including one in southwest Mercer County.
"Some of my articles for American Digger Magazine have actually circled around St. Clair's defeat right over in Fort Recovery," Clark pointed out.
Clark, who holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wright State University, said she has a great appreciation for the history of west central Ohio.
"There's a lot that went on here during the creation of the United States in general," she said. "So much happened in such a small area and on a national scale, we don't get to really appreciate it."
As Clark began to take an interest in history while growing up, she often asked herself a question: "Why aren't places like Darke County and Mercer County in the history books?"
Part of her long-term aspirations with the Mercer County Historical Society is to bring the area the recognition it rightly deserves.
"It's an amazing place, amazing building … right off the main street here," Clark said of the museum at at 130 E. Market St., Celina. "The goal is to get people coming in recognizing the historic value of this area and having a center for … people to come and observe history."
Historical society members said Clark will be the face of the organization.
"She'll be wearing a lot of different hats," said historical society vice president Bill Sell. "She's going to be kind of in charge of running this place, opening it back up to the public. We love the idea that she had - and it used to happen - where we would bring school groups in, and she would actually outreach into the community."
Clark, who also moonlights as an Annie Oakley impersonator, will be tasked with categorizing and listing an abundance of county artifacts stored in the museum.
"We want to reopen and reinvent the museum and let everybody know that we are here and open for business," added historical society member Jim Tesno.
The artifacts must be shown in a coherent manner, he noted.
"Interpretation is key," Clark agreed.
Volunteers have spent much time sifting through and organizing the many items packed in every conceivable place in the museum, which was originally a home built in 1896 by Calvin Riley, a third-generation member of the Riley family responsible for the platting of Celina.
"We plan on having rotating exhibits," Sell said. "We think we have enough stuff that we can have uniform week where we've got military uniforms and police uniforms and band uniforms and legionnaire uniforms."
Historical society member Stan Lefeld said among the group's long-term strategies will be serving all of Mercer County.
"Even though it's named that, sometimes we can get lost it's in Celina," Lefeld said. "But I think the strategies developed by this board and managed by her is going to be a tremendous impact and change, from my understanding."
"We definitely want to represent as much of the county as we possibly can in whatever era we're facing," Clark added.
It's incumbent on the historical society and museum to form partnerships with organizations in adjoining counties, Clark said.
"If you start cutting up our area county by county and just focusing on ourselves, you lose the whole story because each county is a chapter of the book that is our area," Clark said.
Historical society president Bill Vondrell said the organization is looking to reestablish regular hours at the museum, at first maybe each Sunday of the month.
