Erie County Historical Society

The Hagen History Center preserves more than 200 years of Erie County history and shares it with the public. The History Center's physical plant includes five historic properties as well as a modern exhibit building and an archives building, encompassing over 132 acres of property. The historic properties are representative of Victorian architecture and represent a period spanning from 1853-1891 including the flagship 15,000 square-foot Watson Curtze Mansion. Collections include more than 50 permanent and temporary exhibits, two antique cars, and multiple historic 2-D and 3-D items from a variety of sources, both regional and national, that have been donated or purchased since the History Center's inception in 1898. The 10,000 square-foot archives building includes 800 separate collections with more than 8,200 linear feet of material including 5,800 books, diaries, letters, correspondence, typescripts, reports, photographs, maps, paintings, pottery, household items, furniture and other historical resources related to Erie County along with the history of people, places, things, events and activities. The History Center's signature exhibit is Frank Lloyd Wright's field office from San Francisco which is housed in its own exhibit building.

Education and Outreach: During the 2021-2022 fiscal year, visitation at the Hagen History Center reached nearly 8,000 people with 748 students visiting as part of field trips from 16 different schools, both public and private. An increase of over 100 from the previous fiscal year. Visits from two different universities have also taken place. During the summer, the Hagen History Center also held a History Detectives Camp for middle school students and nearly 75 took part in the weeklong camps. During the same time period, the Museum Educator gave off-site presentations to various social groups numbering as many as 250 people. A volunteer docent program has seen over 35 adults trained as qualified docents here on our campus to greet visitors, answer questions and lead guided tours. Partnerships with different schools and recruitment of more school groups to visit our campus is on going. In addition to school field trips to our campus, the Museum Educator visited several schools and presented programs on various topics to students. The History Center offers tours and thematic programing, such as our World War II immersive experience. The History Center also provides Traveling Trunks for classroom use that contain a mixture of original items and replicas. The Museum Educator and additional staff also conducted education and outreach programs with dozens of clubs and social organizations. Staff are also involved in regular community engagment during neighborhood activities and regional community celebrations, fairs and events.