MOUNT VERNON — Volunteers at the Knox County Agricultural Museum continue to refurbish its outbuildings and add to its displays.
In 2025, the ag committee hired Fairview Log Homes to refurbish the 1881 log house, replacing planks and chinking on the west side.
Unfortunately, youngsters discovered the chinking was still soft during the Knox County Fair.
“We ended up taking out 44 rows of chinking. Mr. Miller and the Fairview folks came and did it for us, but we had to get it done,” Ag Committee Coordinator Don Hawk told the commissioners.
“Here in 2026, we have a contract to redo the porch that goes around the log house. It’s been on there, I think, probably since it was put together, so probably close to 40 years.”
Hawk said it will cost about $9,000 to replace the porch.
“We’re trying to look at several things, not only keeping it up, but also look at safety so we don’t have somebody get hurt in the process,” he said. “And we’ve got some painting we need to do on the outside doors.”
Hawk said volunteers will paint the doors.
Projects and new displays
John Lambert donated an apple peeler collection. The ag museum will also display Lambert’s collection of kitchen appliances dating back to the 1800s.
Other 2026 projects include upgrading the museum’s IT system for $4,000.
“We’re old tech, so some of the software we have isn’t compatible with some of the new stuff,” Hawk explained. “We have almost 5,000 items that are in inventory.”
The museum will host fourth-graders for Ag Awareness Day on May 5.
Students will visit the blacksmith shop, loom room, schoolhouse, and log house, and listen to a presentation on corn.
“It’s about 400 kids that come through that, so it’s kind of interesting,” Hawk said.
A memorial bench honoring Paul Hotem is a joint 2026 project with the Knox County Fair Board.
Hotem was actively involved with OSU Extension, 4-H, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
“We went to the fair board and presented [a design] to them,” Hawk said. “I was very pleased they were willing to fund it. It’s a $3,500 project.”
The bench will be located around the swine barn because Hotem contributed to the new barn.
The 2027 projects include repairing planks, chinking, and replacing the porch on the springhouse.
The committee invested $26,000 in the log house project. Hawk said refurbishing the springhouse will be less expensive because it is smaller than the log house.
The museum held its first display in 1984 under a tent on the fairgrounds. In 1986, the committee built the original section of its building and added the loom room in 1992.
The west wing was built in 2008, and the inventory building around 2020.
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