A Jewel of a Museum

Garst Museum located in Greenville, Ohio is well worth a visit. The museum is the home of the Annie Oakley Center. This newly designed exhibit features Annie’s trophies, guns, posters and many personal items from her private life that present a very different picture of Annie Oakley from what is usually depicted. Here you can see actual film footage of Annie in action. Annie Oakley was truly America’s first female superstar and a role model for today’s woman. She took care of her family and could take care of herself too. As a star attraction of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, she performed for presidents, kings and queens all over the world.

Greenville was the site of important American and military history. In Crossroads of Destiny..Indians, Settlement, Treaty of Greene Ville, a new exhibit opening to the public on April 20, 2008, Garst Museum tells the story of "Mad" Anthony Wayne, the Indian Wars and the Treaty of Greene Ville. An exhibit entitled A Marching City will examine the daily lives of men and women, officers and privates who inhabited the massive encampment. Exhibits will include the methods used in constructing frontier forts, the music of the army, biographies of the important players present for the Treaty signing, and methods historians and archaeologists have used to arrive at the fresh interpretation featured in these galleries.

Over 35,000 square feet within six building wings include exhibits on the pioneer broadcaster, world traveler, author, war correspondent, and movie narrator, Lowell Thomas. The museum also has an extensive collection of prehistoric and later Indian points, tools and other historical artifacts. If you enjoy Currier & Ives prints and want to learn more about them, don’t overlook the Americana Wing that houses the exhibit Printmakers to the People.

For more detailed information on hours and other exhibits, visit the museum’s website at www.garstmuseum.org. The museum is located at 205 N. Broadway, Greenville, Ohio. Their phone number is 937-548-5250

Greenville has several other interesting attractions you can enjoy after your visit to Garst Museum. Bears Mill, an authentic working gristmill and The KitchenAid Experience are two not to be missed stops. Stop in or call the Darke County Visitor’s Bureau for more information.