As the Mahoning Valley Historical Society celebrates its 150th anniversary, a new exhibition at the Tyler History Center focuses on its additions in the last five years.

Now on display at the downtown Youngstown history center is a collection of artifacts acquired since 2020.

“We have an original blueprint from an Arby’s restaurant (a restaurant chain that got its start in the Mahoning Valley) in 1964,” said Jessica Trickett, MVHS collections manager. “We have a Youngstown Kitchens lighted wall sign from Mullins Manufacturing. We have an 1840s coverlet made by a weaver in Canfield. We have a box of recipes from an Isaly’s restaurant in Girard that was from the 1960s. We have a whole gamut of things, a lot of archival stuff, too.”

The historical society received the first delivery of Idora Park artifacts from Jim and Toni Amey from their Idora Park Experience collection, and some of those items are included as well.

Most of the items were acquired from individual donors.

“We don’t take everything that comes our way, but we do take the items that relate to the history of the people here in the Mahoning Valley,” Trickett said. “That’s why our collection is so diverse. It doesn’t just have to be archives, photos or written things. It can be tools that were used by local people in industry, or things that they used around their houses, or things they wore or made, things like that.”

Displaying artifacts from the region’s past has been a part of MVHS mission since its inception. At the first Pioneer Reunion in 1874, which led to MVHS’s creation the following year, they displayed a copy of the Western Reserve Chronicle from 1825, a vest made by a Youngstown tailor at the beginning of the 19th century and a sword owned by Col. George D. Wick.

The attention surrounding the society’s 150th anniversary has helped bring out new donors.

“Once the Idora Park acquisition was announced, we had some people with Idora Park memorabilia contact us to see if we needed their items as well,” Trickett said. “Every time our visibility increases, the donations go up. Back in the ’80s when we opened our archives library, we started getting more than 100 donations a year. Now that we have the Tyler History Center, people see the exhibits, and then they think about things they have that might fit as well. Every time we acquire a new building or open a new museum, it seems like people step up and want to support this.”

The current new acquisitions exhibition will be on display at least until fall, Trickett said, and the museum always is interested in acquiring more.

“I don’t think there’s anything we’re necessarily focused on finding, but people bring fascinating things to us all the time, things that we didn’t even know we were looking for necessarily,” she said. “We’re interested in anything that really represents the people and places here in the Mahoning Valley, things that provide insight into our history and maybe things we didn’t know. “We definitely try to fill in parts of our collection, like gaps in our collection of underrepresented populations and things like that. We’re always looking for things that might represent minority communities, and things like that that we don’t already have, things that reflect our more recent history and diversity.”

For those who have items they think MVHS might be interested in, the best thing is to email archivist Pamela L. Spies at archives@mahoninghistory.org about books, photos and written materials or email Trickett at curator@mahoninghistory.org about three-dimensional items, such as furniture, clothes or tools. They also can call 330-743-2589.