When the Georgian was finally purchased in 1972, Ruth Drinkle served on the restoration committee. With the assistance of Emilie Martin as a photographer, she developed a slide program showing good old homes all over the county. She presented this program to approximately 150 organizations and schools to spark interest and appreciation for Fairfield County's heritage.

Ruth Drinkle corresponded with many people, concerning early Lancaster and the efforts of Fairfield Heritage including Mary Maccracken Donkle and Mary Duncan Schultz. When Mary Duncan Schultz died in 1978, she left one-third of her estate for preservation in Lancaster and Fairfield County).

When Mrs. Adeline Ragsdale willed much of her fine collection of antiques to Fairfield Heritage Association, Ruth spent much time in researching the early silver porringer, the Limoges platter and various other artifacts.

Ruth became Chairman of the Survey Committee in 1970. Committee members from every township inventoried approximately all pre-1900 structures in the county and made township maps showing locations of houses and covered bridges.

It was decided to put this information in permanent book form and after several years of work, the "Heritage of Architecture and Arts of Fairfield County, Ohio" was published in 1978. The second edition was published in 1994, and may be purchased in the gift shops at The Georgian Museum or Sherman House Museum.

When it was decided to publish a Fairfield Heritage Quarterly, Ruth Drinkle became a member of its staff, researching and writing articles on a variety of local subjects. She was also instrumental in locating doorway and other artifacts from the early Effinger Home that had been torn down. These artifacts were purchased from the Columbus Art Museum to be placed in the Fairfield County District Library building in 1980.

Ruth was active with the committee encouraging interest in downtown revitalization and helped in the process of getting a grant from Columbus Foundation to hire a professional, Nancy Recchie, to direct this difficult task. She inaugurated an oral history project with a grant from Frederick Ruffner and taped many stories of older citizens. These oral histories are now available in the FHA office and Fairfield County District Library. Ruth also discovered "Little Girl in Yellow Dress" - a primitive painting in Lancaster -(thought to have been lost forever). It is now the property of the Fairfield Heritage Association. Prints may be purchased in the gift shop of The Georgian Museum.


On June 11, 1982, after many months of negotiation and legislation, the title for the Sherman House State Memorial was offically transferred from the State of Ohio to the Fairfield Heritage Assocation for "so long as the Association shall continue to operate the building as a Museum." An agreement with the Ohio Historical Society, which operated the Museum until budget cuts forced its closing in 1980, left the OHS collections within the building on long term loan to FHA.

The dedication of the Sherman House Museum was held on Sunday, April 24, 1983. State Representative Steven O. Williams introduced State Senator Sam Speck who presented the dedication address. Barbara Ellwood and Connie Leitnaker served as the first Directors of the Museum.

The philosophy which guided the restoration of the house was that the period rooms were to be a re-creation of the Sherman family home, a home that reflects their life and circumstances, not just a collection of handsome period rooms and furniture. The original section of the 1811 "little brown house on the hill" contains the restored dining room, master bedroom and children's bedroom; the 1816 section contains Judge Charles Sherman's study and the Sherman family parlor. The front Victorian section was not associated with the Sherman occupancy, which ended in 1844. It is not furnished as a Victorian reception room with a living room suite from General Sherman's New York apartment of the 1880s.


Taken From: The Fairfield Heritage Association Founders' Book and other FHA publications.