Col. Raymond C. Vietzen and the Indian Ridge Museum – 1944 to 1999

Col. Raymond C. Vietzen in 1967 at his museum

Back in October, a blog post featured articles about Raymond C. Vietzen's unearthing of Indian skeletons on the Louis Frank farm near Vermilion in 1940, and his role directing excavation of the site. 

Col. Matt Nahorn, local historian (and Amherst Council Member at Large) noted in a comment, "The Franks Site was one of the largest Erie Indian village sites in the area, which encompassed some 80 acres of land. Much of the land now is owned by the MetroParks. Col. Vietzen worked as site supervisor for Oberlin College students and also worked there for some time, in the early 1940s. 

"He subsequently authored 17 books on archaeology, many of which documented local sites and local work. He operated the Indian Ridge Museum in Elyria from 1930-1995, and was the last living individual associated with the founding of the Archaeological Society of Ohio. His wife, Ruth was the first female officer and worked right alongside him at the archaeological sites."

The Colonel kindly sent me an article about Raymond C. Vietzen and the Indian Ridge Museum that ran in the Journal back in September 1967. You'll find it below, along with several other article about him that I found online in the newspaper's archives. The Indian Ridge Museum was a favorite subject of Journal articles.

The earliest mention of Vietzen that I could find was this article from March 24, 1944.

At the time of this October 16, 1951 article, the museum apparently had not yet acquired its name, and was only referred to in the article as being part of the Vietzen estate, known as "The Wigwam."

In this Feb. 28, 1959 article, we learn that Mr. Vietzen had received his Kentucky Colonel commission "from the governors of Kentucky and Tennessee for archaeological work done in those states."

This Sept. 15, 1967 article (courtesy of Matt Nahorn) features some nice photographs of Vietzen and his  museum.

This July 22, 1970 includes some great, frank quotes by Mr. Vietzen about the American Indian's high morals, and his own strict standards about displaying Indian bones. 

In this November 10, 1972 article (below), Vietzen talks about some of the incredible items found in his museum, including "a trundle bed, a rifle from the Daniel Boone period, hunting bags and powder horns, hearth brooms, a Buffalo robe from the Gold Rush, a plantation office desk from a slave family in Oberlin, an Apache Indian drum made from a hollow sycamore tree with two deer hides stretched over it, a covered wagon, a left hand plow, water power mill, a sleigh from a Sheffield family, dower chests and a cannon from the War of 1812." The article notes, "He also has the Jacob Shupe cabin which was the first one built in Lorain County, a cabin built by an ancestor of Jesse James, and a tymochtee cabin built in 1795 in the Sandusky River Valley."

The Indian Ridge Museum was featured again in this August 20, 1976 article.

Col. Vietzen weighs in with his thoughts about the contention that the Black River was called the "Canesadooharie" in this article from October 23, 1988.

This heartbreaking story from October 12, 1994 tells of some mindless vandalism and theft at the Indian Ridge Museum.

Col. Raymond C. Vietzen passed away in October 1995, followed by his wife Ruth in Sept. 1999. Below are their obituaries and the Public Auction listing for the dispersal of the contents of the Indian Ridge Museum.

Sept. 30,1999

Learn more about the Vietzens and the Indian Ridge Museum at Col. Matt Nahorn's The New Indian Ridge Museum website.