Last updated: 3/3/2012
903 E. MAIN STREET
Portland, IN 47371
Monday - Friday
10 AM - 4 PM
Come see our 11,000 square foot museum at the end of East Main in Portland, Indiana.
One of the most popular displays in the museum is our collection of graduation pictures from a time when there were eight high schools in the county. Those schools were Bryant, Dunkirk, Gray, Madison, Pennville, Poling, Portland, and Redkey. The high schools were consolidated in 1976.
John Jay Hawkins and his family settled in Jay County in 1829, and he was the first white man to die in the county. After much hard work and enterprise, his descendants became successful as bankers, merchants, attorneys and legislators.
Posted by Tom Young
About 1,000 items which had been originally displayed in the Daughters’ of the American Revolution room at the Jay County Courthouse and several large wooden and glass showcases were brought to the museum to begin our collection.
We have a large framed collection of graduating class pictures from the eight high schools which once covered the county. These are a focal point for individuals and families wanting to remember old friends or family members.
Our medical room contains a variety of medical and dental apparatus and instruments. We also have an iron lung which was used locally during the polio outbreak which devastated Jay County in the late 1940′s and early 1950′s.
Our materials are divided into three categories. They are: •Children’s Books, •Fiction Books, •Non-fiction Books
Our Children’s Books are suitable for students in elementary school.
Our Fiction Books are historically correct. The characters are based on real people.
Our Non-fiction Books are divided into the following subcategories. They are: •Census, Directory & Land Books, •Cemetery Books, •Church Records, •Communities, •History Books, •Miscellaneous Books
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