Jan 10, 2019 3 min read

Anyone who walks through the Greene County Historical Society Museum is immediately astonished by the extensive collection of artifacts, documents and photographs housed inside the former “poor farm” near Waynesburg.

The labyrinth of rooms and hallways draw visitors into the history of the county, telling the story of its people and industry.

What the historical society that runs the museum has been lacking in recent years is a director willing to properly showcase the place that showcases Greene County’s history.

Eben Williams, the previous director who left the post late last year, had a promising start several years ago when he took over operations of the museum on Rolling Meadows Road in Franklin Township. There were fundraising events, such as the annual “Steampunk” party where guests dressed up in period garb, and he often interacted with the community to let people know about what the museum had to offer.

But something changed recently as Williams become more absent, as was evident by the fact that he apparently failed to properly submit the historical society’s tax filings, prompting its nonprofit status to be revoked. The society is now working diligently to restore its 501c3 status.

Kelley Hardie, the historical society’s board president, said that problem was not the reason why Williams resigned his position last fall.

“There was no connection from that to why he left,” she said this week. “He wanted to move back home to be with family and friends.”

Maybe not, but it’s clear now that the museum was not getting the best effort from its director.

That will hopefully change with the announcement that the historical society has hired Matt Cumberledge of Brave to serve as the new museum director.

Cumberledge said he wants to focus on community engagement, alternating the exhibits on display and opening to the public the old boiler house behind the museum. The detached building was renovated years ago and meant to serve as a library, but instead it has remained a disorganized mess.

But Cumberledge envisions it as a research library where the public can access a treasure trove of books, handwritten journals, photo albums, documents, census records and newspaper archives dating back to a century ago.

In addition to the events and displays at a museum, a comprehensive research library is one of the biggest tourist attractions. When completed, it will give Greene County residents and outsiders alike an opportunity to research their history.

“There are a lot of improvements to be made,” Cumberledge said. “But I like a challenge.”

Cumberledge seems like the right man for the job, and it sounds as though he’s up to the task and eager to get to work.