Vinton County Historical Society reopens Alice’s House for visitors

Alice’s House is back open in McArthur, giving Vinton County residents a place to walk into an 1860s home, see historic dresses and photographs, and ask volunteers about the families and stories preserved inside.

The Vinton County Historical and Genealogical Society reopened for the visiting season on April 16 at 207 S. Sugar St. The home, donated to the society in 2000 by the granddaughter of its namesake, has become more than a display space. It serves as a house museum and genealogical center with a library of many family histories, a resource that matters in a county where local records and personal memory often carry as much weight as any formal archive.

Current visiting hours run noon to 3 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays through the end of May. From June through September, Wednesday hours are added. Visitors can also make appointments outside the regular schedule, and the society says hours can change, so calling ahead at 740-596-0253 is the safest way to plan a stop. The house is open for tours led by volunteers who explain life in Vinton County in earlier generations and point out the furnishings and artifacts that fill the rooms.

That local role carries extra weight in Vinton County, Ohio’s least populous county. The 2020 census counted 12,800 residents across 412.4 square miles, which helps explain why a single volunteer-run site can matter so much to researchers, families and schools looking for a centralized place to connect names, dates and places. Inside Alice’s House, visitors will find early- to mid-20th-century furnishings, dresses, antique furniture and photographs from years past, along with donated artifacts tied to the county’s history.

The society also has bigger plans for 2026, with many projects tied to America’s 250th anniversary. That effort builds on recent preservation work at the house, including special events such as an open house and the dedication of the Ann Faris dining room after a financial donation helped replace the roofs of Alice’s House. The society has also launched a Local History Landmark Project to place plaques at historically significant sites across the county.

For McArthur and the rest of Vinton County, Alice’s House is not just a place to visit. It is one of the county’s working memory banks, where family lines, community stories and local landmarks are kept visible for the next generation.