Welcome to the Butler County Historical Society and Museum
The Butler County Historical Society is a private non-profit organization that formed in 1934 to preserve and promote the history of Butler County. The society, incorporated in 1948, owns and operates the Benninghofen House Museum, a high-Italian style home built in 1863 that is filled with the furnishings of a wealthy family during the Victorian era. It also manages the Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers Monument on Front Street and the McCloskey Wonder Works(Temporarily located at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park).
What’s Happening at BCHS?
Upcoming speakers series events:
Thursday, August 28, 7:00pm-“The Safe Capital of the World”
Thursday, September 25, 7:00pm-“Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwest Ohio’s Musical Legacy”
Thursday, October 23, 7:00pm-“Behind the Thin Veil: A Peek into the Benninghofen’s Ghostly History”
Current Exhibit
Now Open!
“Hot Fun in the Summertime: Butler County’s Summer Delights of the 1950s and ’60s”
The Butler County Historical Society’s latest exhibit entitled, “Hot Fun in the Summertime: Butler County’s Summer Delights of the 1950s and ’60s” is now open. The exhibit features Butler County drive-in movie theaters, drive-in restaurants, snack food manufacturers, soda bottling companies, public swimming pools and more. A Hamilton-made Skotch brand cooler display is also included. Various rooms of the Benninghofen Museum have been decorated with items from the time period of the exhibit as well. The society and museum are located at 327 N. Second Street, Hamilton, Ohio. The exhibit will be available for viewing during normal BCHS operating hours. The museum is open Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Tours of the exhibit and the museum are free, however no tours will begin within one hour of the facility’s closing time. This exhibit will be available thru early October.
Upcoming Event
“The Safe Capital of the World”
Thursday August 28, 2025: 7:00pm
“The Safe Capital of the World”
Join Smith History Library and Cummins Room Manager and BCHS board member Brad Spurlock for a discussion on the history of Hamilton’s safe industry that made the city a global safe and vault behemoth for several decades. The history and fascinating stories of the one-time thriving industry include companies such as Macneale & Urban, Mosler Safe & Lock Company, and Herring-Hall-Marvin Safe Company.
Admission is free for BCHS members or $5.00 for non-members payable at the door. Reservations are required-and limited to 100-please use the link on the website to register. If you have any questions please call BCHS at 513-896-9930!