The Ashland County Historical Society owns four houses in the heart of the Center St. Historical District. The first, the Manor House, was built in 1859 by J.P. Cowan. It is home to the Society's many collections of glassware, furniture and toys, and is a must see. It is very much the jewel of the campus.

The Thornburg Carriage House is home to our collections that pay homage to the businesses that represented the Industrial Era here in Ashland County. Myers, Faultless Rubber, Hess and Clark, Garber's, and many others helped make this county great, and we are thrilled to have collections that reflect the contributions that they made to the area.

Upstairs, the Thornburg Natural History Museum houses our collection of primitive tools, and household goods, many of which belonged to the very first settlers of our county, the Carter's. There is a replica of the Carter cabin, the first, made out of the wood from the original cabin when it was torn down. The Thornburg's were descended from the Carter's and we are very lucky to have their collection. The Insect collection is housed there as well. Thomas Thornburg spent many years collecting and writing to other collectors all over the world to trade insects with them. The result is the second largest insect collection in the U.S.

The Noonan House is home to the administrative offices and the Betty Plank research library and archives. This library features reference materials to help visitors track family members, as well as Ashland History and general topics of interest. The Ashland County Veteran's History project archives are kept here, as well as the Society's collection of military memorabilia and weapons.

The second floor Streetscape is like walking through downtown Ashland in the turn of the Century. We have represented stores and businesses of all kinds in a format so it is fun to look at and easy to learn from.

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