MUSEUM EXHIBITS
The Society's Heritage Center museum houses permanent and
changing displays interpreting important eras of Jefferson County
history. Found here are the Research Library and Archives and our
administrative offices. Our current exhibit is the
"2007-Year of the
Child", displaying three late 1800 era buildings scaled for children's
interactive play and learning. The exhibit includes a one-room
schoolhouse, a general store, and a trading post. Click here for more
about our Children's Education Programs.
Madison Railroad Station Exhibits
On
the Heritage Center grounds is the restored Madison Railroad
Station, a brick Victorian-era passenger depot noted for its octagonal
waiting room which is over two stories tall. Built in 1895 by the
Pennsylvania Railroad, it served travelers until 1931, when passenger
service to Madison was discontinued. During the Great Depression, it was
used as a community center until the railroad converted it into a
freight terminal. In 1962, the railroad sold the building to an
electrical supply company, which used it as a warehouse.
MADISON RAILROAD INCLINE
The famous Madison Railroad Incline, an engineering wonder in its
day, over 7000 ft. long with a 5.9% grade, took 5 years to build. The
Railroad Station features a scale model diorama telling the history of
the incline and its construction.
THE AGENT'S OFFICE
Step into the past when you enter the railroad station agent's
office, equipped as it would have been in 1903. Try your hand at sending
a telegraph message to the agent on the real telegraph key.
The Caboose
A restored railroad caboose, originally built in 1918 for the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad, stands next to the Heritage Center.
One of the last of the wooden cabooses built, it was a home on wheels
for freight train crews, and was equipped with stove, ice box, and
bunks. Once a common sight on passing trains, cabooses have all but
disappeared from America's railroads, victims of new technology and
changing labor rules. The caboose is open for viewing during regular
museum hours.
Heritage Center Exhibits
The
Society's Heritage Center museum building houses permanent and changing
displays interpreting important eras of Jefferson County history. Found
here are the Research Library and Archives and our administrative
offices. Our current exhibit is the "2007-Year of the Child" displaying
three late 1800 era buildings scaled for children's interactive play and
learning. The exhibit includes a one-room schoolhouse, a general store,
and a trading post.
The PIONEER EXHIBIT is a recreated stone house,
typical of early Jefferson County rural dwellings, containing a varied
collection of early farming and domestic artifacts.
The TRANSPORTATION
EXHIBIT explains the important roll played by the roads, the river, and
the railroad in the
history of Madison and Jefferson County.
The VICTORIAN PARLOR EXHIBIT highlights period furniture, clothing, artwork, and artifacts, all with a local history.
The
CIVIL WAR EXHIBIT chronicles Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's
famous raid through Jefferson County, and explore the roles of some of
Jefferson County's soldiers in the Civil War.
Periodically changing SPECIAL EXHIBITS feature varied themes, and contain items from the Society's artifact collection as well as loaned collections.
We are very proud of our innovative Children's Educational Programs
and we have been fortunate to secure grants and gifts which enable us to
continually expand the role of our Museum Educator, JoAnne Spiller.
Programs are presented either on site here at the Heritage Center or in
area schools; programs are all "hands-on" and focus on the Underground
Railroad, Native Americans, the one room Hoosier schoolhouse, the hog
and corn processing industries, or early steamboating and railroading.
Our activities include a week long Summer History Camp and one day
special camps.