The Story of Harness Racing & Cheers to Wheeling: Public Reception

Join us from 4:30-6:30pm Thursday, November 21 for a free, progressive reception for two exhibits on display at The Museums of Oglebay Institute.

Holly McCluskey, Oglebay Institute curator of glass and special guest Sarah Elizabeth Hickman-McLeod, author of The Forgotten Man of the Trotting Turf: The Story of Edward Franklin “Pop” Geers and Harness Racing will be in attendance to answer questions.

Refreshments served at both Mansion Museum and Glass Museum.

RSVP by calling 304-242-7272.

About the Exhibits

The Story of Harness Racing by Currier & Ives (Mansion Museum)
The uniquely American sport of harness racing predates baseball as America’s favorite pastime. “The Story of Harness Racing by Currier & Ives” illustrates the important role harness racing played in American culture and history through more than 30 original lithographs.

Cheers to Wheeling: An Exhibit of Pitchers, Punch Bowls and Partyware (Glass Museum)
Wheeling has been known for its hospitality from its earliest years as a gateway to the West. In fact, one of the city’s earliest parties was hosting General Lafayette, one of George Washington’s favorite generals in the American Revolution, in 1825.  Cheers to Wheeling! features an array of colorful glass partyware from the Victorian era to the time when the Oglebays lived in the Mansion.

About the Museums of Oglebay Institute

At the Museums of Oglebay Institute, the universal human experience of storytelling is interwoven with our inherent desire to gather, sort and display things. By meticulously collecting, caring for, showcasing and interpreting objects, the museums discover, preserve and share stories, linking us to the past in tangible and intangible ways.

Before the iconic 1846 yellow mansion became the first accredited museum in West Virginia, it was the summer home of Cleveland industrialist Earl W. Oglebay. Today, as Oglebay Institute’s Mansion Museum, it invites visitors to connect with history and the people who lived it.

Each of the museum’s thirteen period rooms takes guests on a journey through the lives of the people who might have used the objects inside—and the historic events that marked the times.

Across the hill, Oglebay Institute’s Glass Museum celebrates local industry with more than 4,000 pieces of Wheeling-made glass. From walking sticks to everyday dishes to the world’s largest piece of cut lead glass, the collection functions as a visual narrative of the Ohio Valley’s long legacy of glassmaking and the craftsmen who made it possible. Visitors can also experience the art of glassmaking through live demonstrations and workshops in OI’s glass studio.

Through careful curation, the Museums of Oglebay Institute go beyond exhibition to education. Together, they serve as informal classrooms where visitors travel through time, connecting with the past through the things that people have left behind.