The Blue Ash Historical Society wants neighbors who care about the city's past to help keep it alive.
The all-volunteer group is recruiting new members to assist with collecting artifacts, preserving records, and sharing the history of Blue Ash and its residents, according to an announcement posted on the City of Blue Ash website. Annual dues are $10.
Sara Tauer is the point of contact for prospective volunteers. She can be reached at [email protected] or 513-745-6260.
When and where they meet
The society gathers the second Thursday of every month at 1 p.m. in the Hunt Room at the Blue Ash Recreation Center. The next meeting falls on Thursday, August 14.
What volunteers do
The city's announcement describes the work broadly: collecting, preserving, and telling the story of Blue Ash. A 2010 city newsletter noted that one common volunteer task was staffing the historic Hunt House during special events and programs open to the public.
The Hunt House
The society's home base is the Hunt House, a Federal/Greek Revival home at 4364 Hunt Road that the City of Blue Ash purchased in 2003. Built between 1857 and 1861 by John Craig Hunt, a businessman and farmer, the house originally sat on roughly 1,000 acres.
The home carries a Civil War footnote. During Morgan's Raid in July 1863, Confederate soldiers took horses from the Hunt barn while 10-year-old Wilson Hunt watched from an upstairs window. His father reportedly told him: "There's not much that I can do. You can't stop an army."
Renovations in 2006 restored the first floor to its 1890s appearance. Structural repairs in 2021 addressed wood-boring beetle damage.
A city named for its trees
Blue Ash takes its name from the blue ash trees used to build the Carpenter's Run Baptist Church in 1797. The community remained rural farmland through the 1800s, incorporating as a village in 1955 and as a city in 1961.
How to get involved
Residents interested in joining can email Sara Tauer at [email protected] or call 513-745-6260.
Upcoming community date:
- Thursday, August 14 — Blue Ash Historical Society monthly meeting, 1 p.m., Hunt Room, Blue Ash Recreation Center
