Driving by the Putnam County Historical Museum in Kalida you may notice something new on the property that is known of its collection of old items. Behind the museum is a concrete slab recently poured. The slab is the foundation for a new storage building.

In May 2015, the Putnam County Historical Society Board kicked off a capital campaign to build the building after a generous citizen of this county donated $40,000 to build a storage building on the existing property. The PCHS is running out of room to store the important historical items that have been donated for the society. The board felt it was important to build a building to store and preserve the county historical artifacts for the past and far into the future,

The membership campaigned started initially by contacting businesses, clubs and industries to request donations. The Putnam County Historical Society is a 501C-3 non-profit status organization.

“We are still soliciting donations so we can complete the building,” Ruen said. She said the building with shelving and heating inside will cost a total of $90,000. She said the current amount they have does not cover the interior shelving and heating.

“We will add that as we receive the funding,’ Ruen said.

The site work and foundation was done by Brad Unverferth. The contract to build the building was awarded to Kahle-Verhoff, Miller City, The storage building will be 40x60x14 foot stick storage building with an eight-foot porch. The building will have metal siding.

The Putnam County Historical Society has been located in Kalida since its inception since 1971 when the Kalida Lions donated the Methodist Church to the Society.

The Putnam County Historical Society trustees and membership has been accepting and caring for the historical artifact and stories of the citizens of Putnam County since 1873 when they formed the Putnam County Pioneer Association which in 1971 became the Putnam County Historical Society. This is also the year when a decision was made to open a museum to house the artifacts of this county.

Anyone who wants more information about donating for the new storage building can email pchs@bright.net or call at 419-532-3008 and leave a message.