Officers of the MCHS, 2005

The first meeting of the Mercer County Historical Society was held on January 28, 1958, by founders Roscoe D. Riley, Carleton C. Reiser, and Carroll A. Stubbs. The second floor of the Richardson Building was leased and Bronsart Gilberg became the first curator. The Mercer County Commissioners allocated $4,000 for the opening of the museum.

In January of 1971, Lee Kuhn, John Suhr, and Ralph Schindler were elected as officers of the Society. That year, they sold reprints of the book, Biographical History of Van Wert and Mercer Counties, 1896. Vera Speicher, the membership chair, contracted volunteers to open the Museum on Sundays.

President Joyce L. Alig held quarterly meetings in 1973 and 1974. Historical books were rebound at the Museum; old clocks were repaired, and documents and newspapers were preserved. Genealogy research was continued, as in the past. In November of 1973, the Mercer County Commissioners requested the Mercer County Historical Society to make a complete list of Mercer County cemeteries and the names on the monuments. President Alig began monthly meetings in 1975. At the time, the Museum was given notice to move as the lease had expired at the Richardson Building.

In 1975, the Mercer County Commissioners purchased the Lena Riley home from David Riley, a descendant of Captain James Riley. That summer, the officers and a few volunteers moved the entire Museum to the Riley home. In the autumn of 1975, Joyce L. Alig was employed as director of the Mercer County Historical Museum.

On April 25, 1976, an open house was held at Mercer County Historical Museum. The Old Courthouse Bell was placed between two brick columns, with a flagpole and two bronze plaques, by Eugene Hirschfeld. Mrs. Carroll Stubbs purchased drapery and display cases for the Museum. Parker Snyder, a descendant of Captain James Riley, placed a collection of Captain Riley's papers in the museum archives. The museum was opened during the daytime Monday-Friday, and on Sunday afternoons.

After many years of being closed, Cait Clark was appointed as the director of the Mercer County Historical Society on June 1, 2024. The Riley House museum was reopened at Lake Festival that same year. A few of Cait’s goals as director are to establish the first complete record of all artifacts within the museum, to found a social media presence that will bring in new visitors, to install safety measures for the preservation of the artifacts in the museum’s care, and to organize new exhibits, lectures, and programs for the public to enjoy.

Officers of the MCHS, 1978

Cait Clark, Current Director