Upcoming Events

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Past Events

Bobby Grim Coal City Racing Legend Exhibit

Held on Saturday, May 4th, 2024

Bobby Grim Coal City Racing Legend Exhibit Open House, Saturday, May 4th
We will have an open house on Saturday, May 4th, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., for the Bobby Grim Coal City Racing Legend Exhibit. This May is the 65th anniversary of Grim being 1959 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. He is a National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee and was one of the best short-track drivers in the United States. Visit to learn about Grim's life, his spectacular 25-year racing career, and his hometown of Coal City. Refreshments will be served.

Christmas Open House

Held on Saturday, December 2nd, 2023

Christmas Open House
Saturday, December 2nd - Noon to 5:00 p.m.
We will have a Christmas Open House on Saturday, December 2nd, from noon to 5:00 p.m., during Christmas at the Square. Check out the museum, which has a variety of displays showcasing the heritage and history of Owen County. Enjoy cookies, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and warm apple cider. As always, admission is free. Visit to learn about Owen County's history and enjoy the warm, historic charm of the old library building!

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Expanded Viquesney and other Military Displays

Held on Friday, November 10, 2018 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Expanded Exhibit Runs Through December

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The museum and Spencer native Keith J. Bucklew have combined their collections to present an impressive display of World War I and World War II Viquesney sculptures as well as the military works of other artists. In observance of World War I, which ended in 1918, and to honor and remember the service of many, especially those from Indiana and Owen County, we offer this display for public viewing. This expanded exhibit started in May and will continue through December.

Spencer native Ernest Moore “Dick” Viquesney (1876-1946) was one of the nation’s best-known sculptors. He designed more war statuary than any other sculptor in the United States and is credited with over 800 statues, memorials, and monuments. His most famous work is the WWI “Spirit of the American Doughboy” Statue, placed in at least 150 locations, in at least 40 states. The Doughboy statue in Spencer is located on the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn. Viquesney also designed the beautiful sculpture titled “The Unveiling” at the Viquesney family plot and the Soldier’s Pavilion at Riverside Cemetery in Spencer, as well as other works of art, including statues of Abraham Lincoln. His studio was in the second floor of the “Viquesney Block,” located at the northeast corner of Washington and Franklin Streets. He designed and built the Tivoli Theatre in Spencer. T. Perry Wesley, former editor of the Spencer Evening World, noted that, “…Dick Viquesney opened what was undoubtedly the fanciest small town theatre ever opened in Indiana…in the Mid-west, for that matter.”

Also on display are pictures taken by well-known Owen County photographer Howard Pietzuch. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on January 29, 1942. He entered with a rating and was assigned to photography school in Pensacola, Florida. During an eighteen-month stay on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, in the Pacific, he photographed Eleanor Roosevelt. Later he was stationed at the Naval Base at Columbus, Ohio. While at this base he was named chief photographer and was assigned to take pictures for the Columbus Dispatch. After the Navy, he came back to Spencer in 1946 and opened Pietzuch Studio.

The museum also has a display covering the military career of Spencer native Lt. Col. Horace M. Hickam, Army Air Corps (predecessor of U.S. Air Force), a distinguished aviation pioneer. Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii, is named in his honor. Horace graduated from Spencer High School. He began his active military service when he received a commission as second lieutenant of cavalry at graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1908. Throughout World War I he was with the aviation section of the signal corps and remained with the flying arm of the service the rest of his life. Horace Hickam was one of the pioneers in aviation, as well as an early and strong promoter of the airplane’s potential as a devastating weapon in war. Working quietly through military channels, he helped lay the foundation for what was to become America’s great air power. He died on November 5, 1934 at Fort Crockett, Texas, in an aviation accident. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Christmas Open House and Caroling Party

Held on Friday, December 11, 2015 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm

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