In addition to the learning tools MVHS provides at our facilities, schools, and other places of formal learning, students and families can learn about local history right in their own homes.
Did You Know? Home Projects are downloadable files that offer a variety of topics about people, places, and events. To make learning our history a memorable experience, each project gives one or more activities to combine common household items with your children’s creativity.
Click on each image below to download the file and get started
In these challenging times, all of us at Mahoning Valley Historical Society want to provide as many resources as we can to our community. Our mission to collect, preserve, and teach the history of the people of the Mahoning Valley will continue even while our doors are temporarily closed to visitors. In an effort to keep history alive outside of classroom and museum walls, we would like to offer the following options for educational resources. These lessons focus on local history and feature a themed activity to continue the learning. We hope to add to this list, so be sure to check back often. Also, please feel free to contact us with any requests or suggestions for additional lessons. We will do our best to keep the history coming!
Stay safe and healthy,
Traci Manning
MVHS Curator of Education
Greystone House
Olive Arms was a local woman who studied art. She designed her home – Greystone – and most of its Arts and Crafts features. Join in Olive’s passion for design and create your ideal home!
Schoolhouse Crafts
Youngstown’s first schoolhouse was a log building, which stood on the southwest quarter of the public square in 1805. In the few decades after, William Holmes McGuffey realized that students needed a more standard reading curriculum. He published his first four Readers in 1836. Travel back in time and create your own historic journal and greased paper windows!
Clothespin Car
The Mahoning Valley has a long history of automotive innovations! Cars, trucks, and vans have been important businesses in our area for more than 100 years. Find out more and then build your own car out of some simple crafting materials.
Statement Structure
P. (Plimton) Ross Berry (1835-1917) was the masonry contractor for many of the most significant buildings in the Mahoning Valley during the late 19th century. Find out more and then construct your own building out of ordinary household items.
Ice Cream
The Mahoning Valley is known around the world for its Ice Cream History! From Isaly’s and Klondike to Good Humor and Handels – everyone loves our ice cream! Find out more and then make your own ice cream out of a few kitchen ingredients.
Paper Airplane
Born in Italy, Mary Ann Campana immigrated to Youngstown in 1921. While working at a five and ten cent store after graduation, she saved part of her earnings for flying lessons and at 18, became Ohio’s first licensed woman teenage pilot. Find out more and then make your own airplane out of a single sheet of paper.
Leaf Prints
Elizabeth Anne Fellows was born in Poland, Ohio. Fellows Riverside Gardens is the culmination of her dream to create a “beauty spot for all to enjoy.” Find out more and then create your own art from leaf patterns.
Dream Clouds
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King believed that equality could be achieved through nonviolent means and he worked tirelessly to organize marches and protests. He used the power of words and nonviolent action to move towards the goal. Find out more, imagine your own dreams, and make a cloud mobile.
Native American Crafts
The first Native Americans to live this area arrived more than 10,000 years ago! Find out more and then make different items, like a dream catcher, moccasins, or a canoe.
Building Design
The father and son team of Charles Henry Owsley and Charles Frederick Owsley designed many of the most beautiful and important buildings along the eastern edge of Ohio and into western Pennsylvania. Find out more about the Owsley buildings and then design your own masterpiece.
Suffrage Poster
Harriet Taylor Upton was a political activist who lived in Warren, Ohio. She believed that women deserved the right to vote and worked to move the country towards a place of equality. Find out more and then create your own voting rights poster.
Microphone
Warren P. Williamson, Jr. was a pioneer in broadcasting, both radio and television. He was the first to bring radio to Youngstown – broadcasting WKBN Radio from the basement of his Youngstown home. Find out more and then make your own microphone.
Town Design
History tells us that John Young and his fellow travelers arrived at the Spring Commons area on June 27, 1796. The area’s first settlement was the following year, 1797. Find out more and then design your own town.
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