The Erlanger Historical Society is merging with the Elsmere Historical Society.
Due to the revitalization of the 1877 Depot on Crescent Ave in Erlanger, owned by the City of Erlanger, the Erlanger Mayor and City Council decided they will no longer need the gift-giving arm of the Erlanger Historical Society Volunteers.
For the past 30 years the Society has been part of the Depot Museum. The Historical Society was initiated at the request of Mayor Fred Thomas in 1990.
Times change, administrations change and new ideas surface. This Erlanger Mayor and City Council plans to go a different direction and asked the Erlanger Historical Society to vacate the premises by the end of April 2021.
The museum will be closed for at least a year. And after the revitalization the city would not have room for an office for the Erlanger Volunteers.
There are still questions about what will happen to the Erlanger history and artifacts and heritage housed in the Museum.
The 1877 Depot is a treasure for the Erlanger community. It is the last remaining wooden depot on the old Southern RR Line and is listed on the Department of the Interior National Registry.
The newly formed Erlanger & Elsmere Historical Society is excited to continue the research of the sister cities Erlanger and Elsmere.
The joint Historical Societies will now be housed in the Elsmere Senior Center. There will an office for research and a large community room for meetings.
Front room case at the Erlanger Depot Museum tells the story of life in Erlanger from entertainment and schools to cooking to rations, stamps and surveying instruments, cameras, prayerbooks, rosaries and more. The vintage curved glass case is 12-feet long. Every item was donated by an Erlanger resident.
The new challenge will be doing a history for the City of Elsmere to be presented at the dedication of the new Elsmere City Building in 2022.
There will be a celebration at the 1st meeting in the new location on May 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Elsmere Senior Center, 119 Dell Avenue.
Presentation: Ke-O-Me-Zu Springs and Spa in Elsmere in the 1890’s by the Queen and Crescent RR
RSVP to 859-727-8959 or erlangerhistoriclsociety@gmail.com
Send an email and to get an application for membership. Dues are just $10 a year. The group does research to do presentations for local organization and a Newsletter every three months. Meetings are the 2nd Wednesday of each month. You do not need to be a member to attend.
The City of Erlanger issued the following statement:
We wish the Erlanger Historical Society the best with its future plans. Our administration continues to make badly needed improvements to the Depot Museum, accounting for and maintaining all historical artifacts and ensuring that the history of our community will be properly portrayed in the manner and with the respect it deserves so future generations will know the story of Erlanger. An invitation has been extended to EHS, which is welcome to resume meeting at the museum when the renovations are completed later this year. The invitation still stands.
I am glad I didnt donate a iron wheel off of the real original baggage cart. I have all of the details of the demise of the original cart. The city will not put the donations to good use like a historical society can, what a shame!