Vintage window display draws visitors to Sugarcreek museum

A vintage 1950s display in the front window of Alpine Hills Museum did more than decorate a downtown storefront. Dan Hostetler’s memorabilia filled the street-facing window at 106 West Main Street, where curator Becky Detwiler kept the display refreshed to catch the attention of people walking or driving through Sugarcreek. The goal was practical: turn sidewalk curiosity into a stop inside, and maybe into a longer stay in downtown Sugarcreek.

The museum has long served as one of the village’s cultural anchors, preserving objects that illustrate Sugarcreek’s social, religious, industrial and educational history. Its three floors of audio-visual displays and exhibits cover Swiss, German and Amish heritage, a mix that reflects the identity that has made the community widely known as Ohio’s Little Switzerland.

That identity is not just a slogan for tourists. Sugarcreek’s downtown, with its heritage stops and visitor traffic, depends on places that give people a reason to park, look around and spend time on Main Street. The window display leaned into that idea by making mid-century memorabilia visible from outside, an easy entry point for residents, schoolchildren and travelers who might not have planned to stop.

Alpine Hills Museum itself has deep roots in the village. The Alpine Hills Historical Society organized in July 1976, and the museum first opened in a two-story house owned by the Ohio Swiss Festival. In 1977, Ranson Andreas donated a downtown Sugarcreek building for a permanent home, giving the museum its present downtown footprint. Early exhibits included a 19th-century Amish kitchen and a 1890s cheesehouse, and the collection has since grown to include artifacts dating back to the 1700s, along with books, pamphlets, papers, maps, genealogies, photographs, manuscripts, letters, journals and records.

The museum also functions as a visitor information center, a role that helped it earn the Tuscarawas County Excellence in Hospitality Award in May 2026. Award organizers pointed to the friendly staff, free admission and Detwiler’s knowledge of the community’s culture and history. Detwiler said she is always looking for ways to increase recognition for the museum, and the window display showed how that strategy works in practice: use nostalgia, make it visible from the street, and give people one more reason to step into downtown Sugarcreek.