Why You Should Visit the Union County Museum

Column sponsored by the Union County Historical Society

By Gavin Tessnear

History is the foundation of any nation. Without history you can’t have a bright future. In the words of George Orwell “who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past”. A great place to learn about our community’s past is the Union County Museum.

The Union County Museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10AM to 4PM and is open the first Saturday of each month. It is located at 127 West Main Street.

The museum offers historical items from all eras of Union’s history, ranging from the county’s early settlements in the late 1700s to present day. They also boast an impressive collection of historical photographs. You can see familiar scenes as they were almost a century ago, and discover places and structures that were lost to time. For example, did you know that the community of Buffalo once had a hotel? You can see a photo of it hanging on the wall as you come into the museum.

Other interesting artifacts include colonial pottery, farm tools, clothing and medical tools. They also have a section of mill tools and railroad memorabilia, representing some the most prosperous era in our history.

My favorite part of the museum was the military exhibit, which covered Union County’s history through major US conflicts, ranging from the American Revolution to the Vietnam War. I learned that there were a number of small Revolutionary War conflicts in Union that I had not heard of. The most interesting piece I saw in this collection was a bullet with teeth marks still visible on the surface, commonly given to a soldier during an amputation or medical procedure before the development of anesthesia, which is where we get the term “bite the bullet”.

The museum also offers access to microfiche, where you can read old editions of newspapers like The Union Daily Times and an extensive library of history books. It won’t take long for anyone to find something interesting or learn something new at the Union County Museum, so be sure to walk in one day and explore!

Special thanks to museum director Howard Lawson for his tour!

For more information on the museum and the Union County Historical Society, visit Home Page - Union Museum.