Oakwood is a special place, distinctive with its tree-lined streets, historical architecture, and strong
sense of community.
We have several fascinating and gratifying activities for which to contribute your time and energy:
- We partner with Wright Memorial Library to host the Far Hills Speaker Series. We jointly bring in local speakers to highlight the history of Oakwood and Dayton. Do you have a historical story to tell?
- We sponsor a Holiday Home Tour to spotlight decorated homes in an Oakwood neighborhood during the Holiday season. Small groups are chaperoned through a series of interesting homes graciously opened for us. Volunteer opportunities include: coordinator, history researcher, docent, and shuttle driver.
- We host Walking Tours featuring Oakwood's neighborhoods and parks. A popular tour has visited Woodland Cemetery, while another covered Loy Garden, Elizabeth Gardens, and Houk Stream.
- Classics on the Lawn: A free car show at the end of summer.
- We have hosted a variety of other events: from a wine and cheese mixer, to cooking, and arts & crafts. We have also collaborated with Dayton History and other regional history societies.
- The Long-Romspert House Museum: Beautiful old homes require tender loving care, and our House Museum is no exception. The Long-Romspert House Museum is one of only three individually-listed buildings in Oakwood on the National Register of Historic Places. She tells the story of Oakwood's development starting in 1863 through 1923. We can always use additional help in maintaining and restoring our Homestead. What a grand old dame she is!
- The gardens and grounds of the Long-Romspert Homestead are nurtured and cared for by volunteers - a year-round labor of love!
- We are excited to have hosted a variety of Eagle Scout leadership projects at the Homestead. While many maintenance tasks need to be performed by specialists, scouts have contributed in many ways, from repairing and extending a brick walkway, to repainting outbuildings, and installing and expanding our wonderful garden. The partnership of developing future leaders and the preservation of history is powerful! We are responsive to scout inquiries and can provide both pointers to advisory resources in the community and funds for materials. This leaves the Eagle candidate with responsibility for creating a thorough plan and leading their volunteers to complete the project.
- We run a variety of children's programs to introduce children to the wonderful world of history
- Class field trips from Oakwood's elementary schools cover the history of the site, various aspects of life in the late 1800's and early 1900's, historical interpretation exercises, and historical children's games: from marbles and pickup sticks to the game of graces and hoop rolling.
- Our summer garden program mixes gardening, cooking, and history. Using a variety of vegetables and greens grown on-site in our garden, children make simple and nutritious snacks. At least one child every year goes home excited for radish sandwiches! There's always something to plant or harvest in our curated garden. Guest speakers discuss topics such as pollinators and bees, composting, and gardening with local plants.
- We previously hosted an annual winter history program, which is currently on hiatus. We'd love to have additional volunteers help us plan and run this program again!
- Volunteers plan sessions, help children use kitchen and gardening tools safely and correctly, and share their knowledge of gardening and history. Opportunities are available for both adults and Jr High and High School students with a parent's permission. We've had several kids return after aging out of the program to help run it in subsequent years.
Please consider volunteering with us to help further our mission to maintain, protect, and promote the stories, artifacts, and environment which make Oakwood unique.
Drop us an email at
membership@oakwoodhistory.org,
via phone at
937-299-3793, or send us a letter to 1947 Far Hills Ave, Oakwood OH 45419. We'd love to hear from you!
