The Wapakoneta Museum/First Presbyterian Church
Introduction
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Images
The Wapakoneta Museum, bedecked for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 (2019). Notice the recessed entrance, which features the large, paired columns.
Another prominent architectural feature of the Wapakoneta Museum is its beautiful stained glass windows, added during a 1917 renovation of the building. The interior also features a decorative tin ceiling.
At the Wapakoneta Museum, you'll discover the four reasons that Wapakoneta grew. #1 is the Auglaize River, an early means for transportation, used by the Shawnee and other Woodland Indians, as well as 18th and early 19th century trappers, traders, and the military. After Wapakoneta's platting (when lots were laid out) in 1833, the river became a source of power for modest, early industry, such as mills.
Reason #2 for Wapakoneta's development: The comunity became an agricultural service center. Farmers would buy supplies and equipment in Wapakoneta, and bring what they had grown and raised back to Wapakoneta to sell.
Reason # 3: Wapakoneta became the seat of the new Auglaize County in 1848. Anyone who needed to work for or do business with Auglaize County had to travel to Wapakoneta.
The 4th and most important reason Wapakoneta grew: The Dayton & Michigan Railroad arrived in 1858. This set the stage for the community's diverse industrial development throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Anything grown or raised on farms around Wapakoneta or produced in Wapakoneta factories could be shipped all over the country.
Establishing public services is a necessary part of creating community. Here we see a hose cart used by the local fire department.
Communications systems are an important part of living in community as well. Can you identify this early equipment, on loan from the Telephone Service Company.
Founded in 1869, the Kreitzer Buggy Factory was located next to the Dayton & Michigan Railroad. Two Kreitzer buggies are on exhibit at the Wapakoneta Museum, a storm buggy (forefront), and a smaller, "convertible" buggy than can be adapted as a sleigh!
The identification plaque for the Kreitzer Storm Buggy.
A study in diversity, Wapakoneta's industries ranged from the Turner Toy Company to Deisel-Wemmer Cigar Factory, from the Wapakoneta Machine Company to Fisher Dairy, from the City Brewery to Sheets Furniture, Wapak Holloware, and more--all represented at the museum.
G.A. Wintzer & Son is Auglaize County's oldest industry, having been founded by 1848. It remains in the Wintzer Family.
Wapakoneta was a capital of churn production, with the M. Brown Company and Standard Churn Company producing tens of thousands of churns each year. The companies were very competitive with one another. M. Brown made the "Bentwood" churn, while one of the Standard Churn Company's products was called the "Anti-Bentwood " churn.
At the Wapakoneta Museum we learn how a local manufacturer offered a third alternative to gas and electrical lighting.
Wapakoneta's role as county seat is represented in the newly-updated exhibit about the Courthouse.
The vitality of Wapakoneta's historic downtown are captured in the many artifacts--reflecting the shops, offices, clubs and businesses that once made their home here.
Imagine having a traveling theater company based in your town for two decades! Wapakoneta did, and the story is captivating!
You won't want to miss "Auglaize County as Neil Knew It." This special photograph exhibit underscores the community's relationship with its most famous son, Neil Armstrong!
Exhibits at the museum also highlight local sports, culture, and agriculture. We hope you enjoyed this peek into the exhibits at the Wapakoneta Museum, and invite you to visit in person soon!
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The building that now houses the Wapakoneta Museum was constructed in 1861-62 as the First Presbyterian Church. It is an example of Greek Revival architecture, quite rare for west-central Ohio. Most churches in Wapakoneta were founded by German immigrants (or descendants of German immigrants), who did not often build in this style. The Presbyterians had moved to Wapakoneta from Virginia, New York, and the New England states, where Greek Revival architecture was common.
As significantly, the Presbyterians never outgrew this, their first church home. The other congregations, either demolished and rebuilt larger churches or made substantial additions. Thus, the Presbyterian Church is the oldest church in Wapakoneta, and the oldest church in Auglaize County to retain its original architectural form.
The distyle in antis form of the Greek temple in which the two central columns created a recessed entrance is especially rare. The Presbyterian Church is the only remaining example in nine counties in west-central Ohio, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The First Presbyterian Church dissolved in 1929. The building housed the Wapakoneta Woman's Club for many years, and now houses the Wapakoneta Museum.
Cite This Entry
Barber, Rachel. "The Wapakoneta Museum/First Presbyterian Church." Clio: Your Guide to History. October 1, 2020. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://theclio.com/entry/114301
Sources
Barber, Rachel. The Book of Wapakoneta. Wapakoneta, Ohio. The Wapakoneta Daily News, 2009.
Rachel Barber
Rachel Barber
Auglaize County Historical Society archives
ACHS archives (from the 1880 county atlas)
ACHS archives
ACHS archives
Rachel Barber
Rachel Barber
Rachel Barber
Rachel Barber
Rachel Barber
ACHS archives
Rachel Barber
Rachel Barber
Rachel Barber
Rachel Barber
ACHS archives
ACHS archives
ACHS archives