Huntsburg Historical Society With Big Plans in Museum Opening
What would have happened if Lewis Hunt never came to Huntsburg to claim his father's land in 1817? …
What would have happened if Lewis Hunt never came to Huntsburg to claim his father’s land in 1817?
Luckily, that is something that the Huntsburg community does not have to think about.
Huntsburg Township — or Township 8, 6th Range, Connecticut Western Reserve as it was originally known — stands today as a crossroads in Geauga County between the larger incorporated areas, like Middlefield and Chardon.
But that’s not how it began.
“One of the most important things we learned was how active Huntsburg was early on,” said Carl Seliskar, the president of the Huntsburg Historical Society, which strives to teach its community about the history of their beloved township.
“There were two grocery stores, a hardware, two places to get gasoline and a hotel,” he said. “It was a much bigger township and much more important.”
The Huntsburg Historical Society began as an outgrowth of the Huntsburg Bicentennial held in 2008, with Ty Pilarczyk as the president.
Both Seliskar and Pilarczyk are natives of the township.
After living in Cincinnati with his wife, Elaine, for 38 years, Seliskar, a retired chemistry professor, decided it was time to come home.
“I guess it’s called roots,” he said. “I always loved the farm life and the family farm was here.”
At the Huntsburg Pumpkin Festival, he and Elaine noticed a poster about the historical society and the couple were immediately hooked.
The Seliskars joined Ty and his wife, Jennifer, and the foursome started collecting things — photos, pieces of history.
Helen and John Sudyk, from the Clarke family lineage, were involved, as was Marilyn Holderman, a relative of the settling Pomeroy family.
Those seven formed the nucleus of the society.
On May 31, the Huntsburg Historical Society had its first open house featuring the photographs, maps and other objects the community has managed to save from various time periods.
“What really helped it was the township trustees,” Seliskar said. “They gave us a big school room in the old Huntsburg School. That was a really big catalyst, the impetus to get something up and going. They were very supportive and still are.”
The room is where the group meets regularly, collecting and assembling artifacts. All of the objects have been donated from families and individuals.
Current and former Huntsburg residents packed the room for most of the two-hour open house, a surprise, Seliskar said.
The archivist from Windsor Township’s Historical Society was on-hand, helping the group.
The members of the society were knowledgeable and helpful about the history of their community.
A portrait of Lewis Hunt was on display.
The remarkable thing is that there have been no other photos of Lewis Hunt until recently.
It is one of the society and museum’s main goals — to expand the knowledge, membership and involvement across the community.
What happened to booming Huntsburg Township?
Seliskar thinks it was the car.
“The larger townships like Chardon and Middlefield got big grocery stories,” he said. “They began to draw business away. The automobile made it easy to get there.”
The society has not yet set visitation hours for the museum, which is on Madison Road south of the township park.
But if the community is interested in learning more, they will be willing to schedule a time for people to visit them.
At the group’s next meeting in June, Seliskar said the first item of discussion would be establishing regular hours.
The Huntsburg Historical Society is hoping to acquire more memorabilia, artifacts and photographs as time goes by and establish a permanent museum.
In particular, they are looking for anything that dates from the 1800s or very early 1900s.
Contact Carl or Elaine Seliskar at440-636-5820to help or with questions. You can also send correspondence to Huntsburg Historical Society P.O. Box 308, Huntsburg OH 44046 or email the society at huntsburghistoricalsociety@yahoo.com.
