The Oldham County History Center was created by Legacy Gifts from the Louise Duncan Head Trust, Peyton Samuel Head Trust and J.C.Barnett Trust.  These gifts repurposed and renovated historical homes into the Peyton Samuel Head Museum (circa 1840) and J.C. Barnett Library and Archives (circa1840) which created the Oldham County History Center that opened in 1998.  Managed and owned by the Oldham County Historical Society that was created in 1958, the Oldham County History Center has expanded the campus and now includes the renovated Risley Root Cellar (1840), Rob Morris Chapel Educational Building (circa 1880 former LaGrange Presbyterian Church, the Mildred Wheeler Horton Colonial Garden and the recent addition, The Dahlgren Pioneer Barn demonstration and outdoor event center.

These Legacy Gifts have created opportunities that connect present generations to our local community history.  History isn’t worth much without understanding history which is far more important.   It is not enough to read about history but people need to experience it, feel and visit the past- dressing up in a soldiers uniform, planning an escape on the Underground Railroad, ringing the bell from the old Masonic College, shucking corn and grinding it into meal, washing and wringing clothes and hanging them on a line, experiencing a root cellar and how to preserve food, visiting an old cemetery;  these simple actions deepen connections of place, time and the spaces where we live.

The Oldham County History Center continues to thrive and grow- our oral history programs such as the Veterans Oral History Program and Living Treasures Program give substance to real history of the past: real stories of how people lived and survived.  Our family letters, local collections and artifacts, scrapbooks and much more give substance to meaning. Our exhibits provide recall to places and people of our past.  Our cultural events honor traditions and connect our people by their differences and similarities which enrich our daily lives.