All of us want to see our history preserved, especially our local history. There are a number of ways we can make this happen, most of which involve the donation of time, money or both. Here are some easy and painless ways to support local history.

1. Donate part (or all) of your Ohio Income Tax refund to the Ohio History Fund. WHS has received three grants from this fund since 2021. Tax time is your time to support Ohio History! Did you know you can donate part of your Ohio income tax refund to the Ohio History Fund? It’s as simple as entering the donation amount on line 26 of Ohio Form IT1040. Line 26 asks “Amount of line 24 (refund) to be donated”. Choose “Ohio History Fund” from the six options presented and enter the amount there. In 2021 the Wakeman Building received $3867 for a new HVAC system from this fund. The Sargent House sill and beam project (2023-2024) was granted $18,000 toward this repair. The Wakeman Archives recently received $1150 to purchase scanning equipment for the glass and medium format negative digitization project. You can see these pictures on Ohio Memory at www.ohiomemory.org .

2. Buy an Ohio History “Mastodon” license plate and $20 goes to the Ohio History Fund

3. Become a member of the Waterville Historical Society. Your dues and donations support all of our preservation activities. You could also become a member and a volunteer. With four buildings to care for and maintain, lawn and garden work, and thousands of artifacts to care for, there is much work to do.

For more information about the Ohio History Fund, visit https://www.ohiohistory.org/preserving-ohio/ohio-history-fund-grant/.

SUPPORT FOR HISTORY!