WEST LIBERTY – Piatt Castle Mac-A-Cheek will be featured in Ohio Open Doors on September 13 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. and is the recipient of two capacity building grants from Ohio Humanities and the Ohio History Connection.
Piatt Castle Mac-A-Cheek is one of many historic sites participating in the event series Ohio Open Doors sponsored by the Ohio History Connection. From Friday, September 9 through Sunday, September 18 historic buildings and fascinating places throughout Ohio will open their doors for free. A list of the statewide locations, dates, and times is available at www.ohiohistory.org/opendoors.
The Ohio Open Doors event at Piatt Castle Mac-A-Cheek is called A Toast To Time – 2022. Visitors can examine the architecture and artistry of the 1871 home and the enchanting setting as they discover plans to preserve the property, restore architectural details, and expand a vision for public programming. Hands-on activities, demonstrations, and discussions will be ongoing and behind-the-scenes cellar tours will be offered at 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.
All educational programming at the site is managed by a nonprofit organization, the Mac-A-Cheek Foundation for the Humanities (MFH). Piatt Castle Co. Inc. continues to own the property with a vision for preservation and restoration so the site remains open to the public in the future. Representatives of the staff, board, and Piatt family will be present on September 13 along with Larry Vance, a consultant in soft mortar repair, sharing plans to preserve the property, restore architectural details, and expand a vision for public programming.
From November 2021 through mid-August 2022, support to the MFH was provided by Ohio Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the federal ARP Act of 2021 in the form of an OH-SHARP planning grant responding to, and recovering from the coronavirus. Outcomes include: reconnecting with many schools and youth organizations in a three-county region, piloting programs integrating environmental science lessons with humanities disciplines, expansion of outdoor events, increased attention on offering visitor benefits through memberships, and the creation of a 3-D tour by Reality Concepts. The latter will soon be available to view at www.piattcastle.org where the remaining 2022 events are listed.
Audience building initiatives begun under the OH-SHARP grant are taking another step forward through a capacity building grant announced in March at the Ohio State House. Strengthening Member and Visitor Engagement is funded in part by the Ohio History fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connections. Donations to the Ohio History Fund make this program possible. www.ohiohistory.org/historyfund.
All involved at Piatt Castle Mac-A-Cheek are grateful for the financial support and confidence given by Ohio Humanities, the Ohio History Connection and the Ohio Open Door partner organizations: Ohio Arts Council, TourismOhio, the Ohio Travel Association, and Heritage Ohio.
As you visit Mac-A-Cheek Castle to learn about the past and plans for the future, realize that the present is the perfect time to become more involved at this local National Trust landmark as a visitor or member, volunteer or staff, school or group educator, consultant or program provider, project donor or program sponsor. For more information about any of those options, contact Margaret at 937-465-2821. Piatt Castle Mac-A-Cheek is located at 10051 Township Road 47, West Liberty, OH 43357.
