Museums draw tourists, keep them here

This story was featured in the July 2022 edition of Sandusky Living magazine. If you're interested in purchasing a copy, call the Register at 419-502-2130 while supplies last. There's no doubt that Cedar Point, the best roller coaster amusement park in the world, is Sandusky's biggest tourist draw. But local museums in Sandusky also do their part to draw tourists to the area, and to give people who came to Sandusky a reason to stick around and spend time in the city. Merry-Go-Round Museum Location: 301 Jackson St. Kurri Lewis, the executive director and curator of the Merry-Go-Round Museum, says he knows his museum contributes to the local tourism scene. The museum, located at the intersection of Washington and Jackson streets in downtown Sandusky in a former Post Office building, houses a working carousel and a collection of vintage carousel animals, many of them obtained or borrowed from collections around the country. Lewis said the museum draws from 35,000 to 40,000 visitors a year, and the vast majority seem to be tourists rather than local residents. Many of them discover the museum when they are drawn to Sandusky for other reasons. It's clearly visible for people strolling through Washington Park. The museum has billboards on two roads that are on the way to Cedar Point, with one on Cleveland Road and the other on Tiffin Avenue. The museum tries to use social media to catch the attention of visitors. But there are also people who have a serious interest in carousels and carousel animals, and for them, the Merry-Go-Round Museum is reason enough to make Sandusky a destination. Lewis said he recently met a couple from New York traveling to California, going coast-to-coast to visit museums devoted to carousel animals and to look at carousels. And it helps that members of roller coaster clubs feel an affection for amusement parks generally, and like to stop at the Merry-Go-Round Museum when making a pilgrimage to Cedar Point. Sandusky's museums such as the Merry-Go-Round Museum and the Sandusky Maritime Museum, another reason to come to downtown Sandusky, serve as tourist destinations because of two forms of support: Staffers who dedicate themselves to their museums and museum supporters and volunteers in the local community. Lewis, 35, who hails from the Findlay area, has made the museum his career since taking a degree in history from Findlay University. During his senior year in college, he interned at the Hancock County Historical Society, and the experience got him interested in working at museums. The Merry-Go-Round Museum hired Lewis as curator and he took over as the executive director when the previous director left. Members are a key asset of the museum. Memberships start at $40 (for seniors and students) and go up from there. All members get free admission to the museum whenever they like and other perks are added depending on the membership level. The museum has about 200 members. "Members are a huge asset," Lewis said. The money they provide is of course welcome, but Lewis said they also help attendance by bringing in family members who have come to Sandusky from out of state. So the members are important because they bring in people who otherwise would not have come in, Lewis said. Here is a look at other Sandusky museums: Maritime Museum of Sandusky Location: 125 Meigs St. Sandusky has a rich history associated with Lake Erie, including shipwrecks, a nearby War of 1812 naval battle, boat building and rum smuggling across the lake during Prohibition days. Visitors can explore such topics by visiting the Maritime Museum of Sandusky, 125 Meigs Street at East Water Street. The museum's latest director, Molly Sampson, has been adding to the museum's exhibits. And in fact, the museum's main building isn't big enough to hold all of the museum's assets. Visitors also are invited to walk into a nearby building that houses the museum's boat collection. The museum's big annual fund-raising event is the Big Splash Raffle, set for August 19 and 20 this year. The museum also invites local residents to become members, with rates starting at $30. Members get free admission to the museum, a quarterly newsletter, a discount in the gift shop and other perks. Follett House Location: 404 Wayne St. The Follett House Museum, a 19th century mansion at 404 Adams Street, was the home of Oran Follett and his wife, both abolitionists; Follett was known for publishing the Lincoln-Douglas debates in his newspaper. Their former home now serves as a local history museum run by the Sandusky Library. The library's museum services manager, Jeremy Angstadt, runs the museum and often organizes local history tours and events. The Follett House houses artifacts of local history and boasts a widow's walk on the roof that provides a view of Sandusky. Normal museum hours during the summer are Thursday through Saturday and admission is free; group tours also can be arranged. Cooke-Dorn House Location: 1415 Columbus Ave. The Cooke-Dorn House, 1415 Columbus Ave., was the home of Eleutheros Cooke, Sandusky's first lawyer, and the father of Jay Cooke, who helped the Union finance its war campaigns during the Civil War. Free admission is available Thursday through Saturday, and tours are available at other times. Erie County Historical Society website Web location: eriecountyohiohistory.com No, the Erie County Historical Society, unlike many other local historical societies, does not maintain a local museum. But the historical society's website at www.eriecountyohiohistory.com serves as a kind of "museum without walls" and is a useful resource for tourists and for local residents interested in history. For example, the website offers walking tours for historic areas of Sandusky (and also Kelleys Island, Milan and Vermilion). The website also lists various events and tours in the area that are of interest to history buffs, and it has links to dozens of historical markers. If you want to find the marker where Notre Dame football great Knute Rockne got married in Sandusky (Rockne worked at Cedar Point) or find the location of Fort Sandusky, the website is your ally. The historical society sells memberships, providing the opportunity to meet other people who are the kind of folks who stop their cars to read roadside historical markers.