Walk with Annie Oakley as you visit the National Annie Oakley Center at Garst Museum. You may be surprised as you discover Annie's true personality. Unlike Hollywood's image of a wild west, rough and tumble tomboy, Annie was a petite woman who loved lace, silver, beautiful furnishings and elegant clothing. Blessed with physical athleticism, she excelled in a man's world and never forgot her roots in Darke County, Ohio.

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Crossroads of Destiny is a stunning exhibit telling the history of the Treaty of Greene Ville. Greene Ville was the largest stockade fort ever built in North America and it was the scene of the most significant American Indian treaty ever negotiated. The Treaty of Greene Ville of 1795 opened the door to the settlement of the Midwest and resulted in Ohio statehood eight years later. The Treaty also ended forty years of conflict over the upper Ohio Valley.

Lewis Meets Clark in Ft. Greene Ville
William Clark was stationed at Greene Ville and took part in Anthony Wayne's Fallen Timbers campaign of 1794. In 1795 Meriwether Lewis joined the Second Sub-legion of the regular army. He was sent to Greene Ville in time to be present at the signing of the great treaty.

The Keepers of Freedom exhibit features artifacts and uniforms of Darke County veterans from every American conflict including the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the war in Iraq.
 

Of special note is the exhibit of Lt. Commander Zachary Lansdowne, Captain of the USS Shenandoah, a Navy airship. He was a pioneer and early advocate of military air power.

PFC Douglas Dickey’s uniform and related artifacts are prominently featured in the Garst Museum’s Lowell Thomas Meeting Room.

On November 14, 2014, the Garst Museum unveiled a new exhibit honoring Darke County native and Medal of Honor recipient Douglas Dickey. Dickey served in Vietnam during 1967. On March 26, a radio operator was wounded and Dickey was sent to replace him. While a medic worked on the wounded man, an enemy grenade landed in the bunker. Dickey threw himself on the grenade, saving the lives of several others while losing his own life. The powerful and emotional opening program featured Medal of Honor recipient Major General James E. Livingston, USMC (Ret), Lt. Col. Tom C. McKenny, USMC (Ret), and Col. Dave Rumsey. The Dayton Marine Reserve Unit provided the Color Guard for the ceremony (photo with Major General James E. Livingston). Several members of his platoon, as well as family members, attended the event.
 

The permanent exhibit is available for public viewing in the museum's Lowell Thomas Meeting Room. Contact the museum for more details.

The name Lowell Thomas evokes a number of images -- adventurer, explorer, world traveler, and author. However, he was best remembered as a radio news commentator on the CBS Radio Network. The vast Lowell Thomas Exhibit at Garst Museum was donated by Thomas in his later years.

The Lowell Thomas exhibit is filled with numerous artifacts from historic figures Lowell Thomas met, interviewed, and befriended during his worldwide travels and career (especially Lawrence of Arabia). Lowell Thomas was born in Woodington, Ohio on April 6, 1892, to Harry and Harriet Thomas, but his family’s local roots existed far before that date.

Visit the Garst Museum and learn more about this fascinating legend.

This premier exhibit highlights the history of Longtown, a tri-racial settlement situated on the border of Ohio and Indiana. The exhibit offers a chance to explore the settlement and development of this unique community situated near Greenville, Ohio. It also explains the settlement, the farmland and development of the area, and the community's involvement in the Civil War. The exhibit features two foundational aspects of the town, which include the Union Literary Institute and the two main churches, Bethel Wesleyan and the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The legacy of Longtown is equality, diversity, and community. This permanent exhibit is located in the Village Wing of the museum.

The iconic rooftop sign, the red brick building, and trucks parked for the next day’s deliveries marked the presence of the Chas. G. Buchy Packing Company at 195 North Broadway in Greenville.

Five generations of Buchys managed the business as it evolved over 134 years from a slaughterhouse to a packing plant to a distribution facility.

In 1870, George Buchy fled the Alsace-Lorraine region of Germany and immigrated to the United States finding his way to Cincinnati and eventually Greenville to work as a butcher for his relative Albert Klee.  In 1878, he ventured out on his own to start the George Buchy Slaughterhouse in the brick building.

George’s son Charles bought the business upon the death of his father in 1901 and changed the name to the Chas. G. Buchy Packing Company. He drove this wagon to surrounding communities to deliver meats with ice cut from a pond to keep the meats cold in warmer months.  In 1918, the first gas compressor was purchased for the plant, and in 1933 the first refrigerated truck replaced the Buchy wagon.

In 1963, upon the death of Charles Buchy, George J. rose to the helm and guided the company through the addition of a freezer, computer system, and more diverse customer base although by 1968 the company had ceased slaughtering operations.

Jim Buchy, George J.’s son, became president and CEO in 1978 of Buchy Food Services after doing every job involved in the business. It was during this time that Jim also served as a 12-term member of the Ohio House of Representatives.  His moniker changed from “Baloney Man” during his high school years to the "Gentleman of the House” while he served in Columbus.

The government regulations of the late 1980s made distributing more profitable than processing meats so the business changed in 1991 to a wholesale distributor of food products.  By 2006, the operations moved to the Greenville Industrial Park. In 2012, the business was sold to Sysco Cincinnati and the vacant North Broadway facility was razed.  The 4-acre property across Wilson Avenue from the Garst Museum has become a parking lot for the museum and a link in the Darke County Park District’s recreational trails known as the Buchy Mile.

Along the Buchy Mile that serves walkers, runners, and cyclists, a statue of Jim Buchy sits in quiet reflection of the rich history of this Darke County business and the name Buchy that will be preserved for future generations.

In this exhibit, the neon sign, given by Buchys to their most favored customers, illuminates a past of mom-and-pop grocery stores, and the now-retired Lohmann Bros. wagon traveled many miles in Darke County from dawn to dusk to make deliveries to customers and build the Buchy reputation of quality and service.

Making its debut at Trenton, New Jersey, on April 10, 1960, with Richard “Red” Amick at the wheel, the #93 Iddings Special began a 13-year run in racing. Owned by brothers John and Howard “Spike” Iddings, the car was built by Greenville native Charles “Henry” Meyer, future National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee.

The Iddings brothers owned and operated an auto parts supply business, which enabled them to fund  racing throughout the Midwest and the United States.

Henry Meyer began developing the #93 special in 1958 with the goal of building a new lightweight combination champ and sprint car featuring a coil spring suspension.  The #93 is a revolutionary open-wheeled car on a tube space frame chrome-moly steel chassis with a suspension of integral coils over shock absorber units. It has a 450-horsepower Chevrolet V8 modified engine, a magneto ignition, and a fuel injection system designed by Meyer.

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The #93 weighs 1,190 pounds, has an 88-inch wheelbase, and is constructed of magnesium and aluminum with fiberglass nose and tail sections. It uses the “dog clutch” transmission arrangement and has a straight tube rear axle with Halibrand quick-change differential and cast magnesium wheels.  What a machine!

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Retired at the end of the 1973 season, #93, over its lifetime, set world speed records with such famous drivers as Roger McClusky, Johnny Parsons, Al Unser, Sr., and Bobby Unser at its wheel.

In May of 1912, while running for President on the Bull Moose ticket, then former ex-President Theodore Roosevelt made a campaign stop in Greenville. This cropped image of him, delivering his speech, is part of the collection of photos and drawings depicting early 1900's Greenville located in the Kay Brown Gallery.