Staff Reports
The Hayden Historical Museum’s hours of operation for winter will be 4 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays and 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays.
These hours will stay in effect until Memorial Day 2021.
Personal protective equipment supplies are on hand, and arrangements for social distancing will be maintained.
The museum features a research library and an exhibit area with several different displays to highlight Hayden and Spencer Township’s heritage. To celebrate the museum’s 30th anniversary, a special exhibit called “Where Did It All Begin?” has been created. It features a gallery of photographs to highlight the museum’s building projects from 1990 to the present.
Some of the other attractions include the Gallery of Agricultural Leaders, a pre-1900 bedroom, a 1939 kitchen, a 1965 living room and a mid-1950s school classroom. There also are displays for the veterans from the community, the eight pro baseball players from Hayden and a special area to honor former Indiana governor and Hayden native Edgar D. Whitcomb.
In 2014, a monument was erected for Whitcomb. It is located in the side yard of where he grew up in Hayden. The marker highlights Whitcomb’s life and career as a veteran of World War II, a politician and a sailor who navigated around the world by himself.
The museum’s largest exhibit is the old Sinclair gas station. First built along U.S. 50 in 1926, this building was moved to the museum property in 2001. Volunteers used an old photograph to restore the station to the way it looked in 1947.
The newest attraction for the museum is the building that was opened in 2015 called A Place Called Yesterday, devoted to show what home entertainment was like before the days of electricity. Visitors can see and hear the various antique musical instruments and devices that require no electricity or battery power. This building also contains a display of an almost complete collection of Life magazines.
Visits also can be arranged by calling 812-592-8445, messaging the museum on Facebook or emailing [email protected]. Organizations and civic groups are especially welcome to tour the facilities.