Join the Butler County Historical Society as guest speaker B. J. Miller presents the history of the Henry Ford and Son Fordson tractor and wheel manufacturing plant that operated in Hamilton from 1920 through 1951. Miller’s presentation will be at 7 p.m. on August 2nd in the Emma Ritchie Auditorium at the Butler County Historical Society, 327 North 2nd Street, Hamilton. The program is free to the public.

Miller, co-owner of Ron’s Auto Body Shop in Shandon with Casey Miller since 2010, is known nationally for his work restoring antique engines. He has been involved with antique autos for many years, dating back to his youth. His father, Ron Miller built a “salt flat car” with his friend Mark Radke that set world records in 2007, 2009 and 2012 at the Bonneville Salt Flats using a vintage Model A Ford-powered sprint car they built. The family’s collection of top-notch Model T and Model A Fords are in the Salty Dog Museum, adjacent to Ron’s Auto Shop in Shandon.

The Ford plant originally opened in 1920 to build gas-powered Fordson tractors. Shortly after opening, however, the factory shifted to manufacture more than 12 million wheels for the Ford Model T between 1920 and 1927. After the plant was retooled, more than 22 million wheels for Ford’s Model A automobile were made from 1927 to 1937. During World War II the plant built parts for bomber engines. Between 1951 and 1962, the Bendix Aviation Corporation operated at the plant. The Ward Manufacturing Company made camping trailers at the facility until the Chem-Dyne Corporation opened a chemical-waste storage site on the property in 1975.

The Butler County Historical Society will present on Saturday, July 13, the second of its summer multi-generational programs designed for children and their parents and grandparents. It will be held in the front and back yard of the society’s Benninghofen House museum at 327 North Second Street, Hamilton, and begin at 9:30 a.m. and end around 2 p.m. The program is free and open to the public, thanks to a generous grant from the W. E. Smith Family Trust of Oxford.

The program, “Archeology and Native American Artifacts,” will show the basics of setting up an archeological dig to find fossils and Indian arrowheads. During this session children and adults can excavate a special area on the property just like a professional archeologist would. We can assure people that several fossils and arrowheads will be found. Participants will also learn about the Native American tribes that lived in Butler County. All activities are designed as hands-on experiences with no set program. People can join the event anytime between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and come and go as they please. In the case of poor weather, activities will be moved inside to the Emma Ritchie Auditorium.

Kathy Creighton, executive director of the historical society, said she expects children and their family members to have a good time during the program. “We’ve salted the yard with fossils and arrowheads so we know the kids will be successful during their archeological dig. We’ve also created a very special scavenger hunt for the kids and their parents where they will try to find several key artifacts in the society’s Native American Exhibit. This session should be an excellent hands-on experience for the kids, a terrific learning event and a real treat for all.”

On Saturday, June 8, the Butler County Historical Society will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the June 6, 1944 Allied D-Day invasion of Normandy with the first of four summer multi-generational programs designed for children and their parents or grandparents. It will be held in the front yard of the society’s Benninghofen House museum at 327 North Second Street, Hamilton, and begin at 9:30 a.m. and end around 2:00 p.m.  The program is free and open to the public, thanks to a generous grant from the W. E. Smith Family Trust of Oxford.

Children and their companions will be able to visit the BCHS exhibit focusing on Butler County residents and companies that participated in America’s war effort. There will be a scavenger hunt, explanations of rationing and an opportunity to “collect” eggs. A World War II Jeep will be on display in the parking lot and give children opportunities to have photos taken with it.

All activities are designed as hands-on experiences with no set program. People can join the event anytime between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and come and go as they please. In the case of poor weather, activities will be moved inside to the Emma Ritchie Auditorium.

Butler County Historical Society members are invited to attend a preview of the society’s upcoming exhibit focusing on the men, women and industries that were involved in America’s effort to win World War II. The member-only event will be held on Friday evening, May 3, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Emma Ritchie Auditorium of the society’s complex at 327 N. Second Street, Hamilton. Light refreshments will be served. Non-members who wish to attend the event can join the society during the evening. People planning to attend are asked to RSVP.

Liza Vance, history graduate student at Northern Kentucky University, will describe her work in developing the society’s “Butler County World War II Soldier’s Stories” exhibit that will open to the public on June 6, the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The exhibit will present the first hand accounts of men and women who served during the war. Vance spent hours interviewing several soldiers that experienced the war while at Pearl Harbor, Saipan and during the D-Day Invasions in Europe. She also compiled much of the information presented in the exhibit, which is her “Capstone Project” that completes the university’s requirements for her Master Degree in Public History.