For those involved in seeking a future for Ohio’s historic resources on a state level, it’s a known fact… but for others it can be a surprise when they discover that Ohio is the only state in the country with two staffed statewide preservation organizations.

A “statewide” preservation organization refers to a non-profit corporation involved in education, partnership and advocacy for historic resources within the geographical boundaries of a particular state.  Its mission, scope of work and membership base are therefore broadly defined, and its governing board typically comes from both urban and rural areas.

At the given moment, there are approximately such 45 statewide historic preservation organizations operating in the United States, given that definition.  One of the states that has long been without a statewide, Nebraksa, is gaining one this year.

The Ohio Preservation Alliance, Inc., now known as Preservation Ohio, was established in 1982.  Three of the initial members of its Board of Trustees are current Ohio Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, current Preservation Ohio Board Vice-Chair and Cincinnati preservation architect Bruce Goetzman, and Franklin Conway, consultant and current point person for the renovation plan for the endangered Seneca County Courthouse.  Over the last 26 years, Preservation Ohio has held dozens of conferences and workshops, has been involved in hands-on preservation efforts in many Ohio communities, has developed Ohio’s largest statewide preservation easement program, and was among the first organizations in the state to promote a smart/sustainable growth discussion with the early 1990s’ “Managing Change” conferences.

Heritage Ohio was established in stages beginning in 1998.  Its genesis was in the non-profit organization known as Downtown Ohio, Inc., which then served as Ohio’s statewide “Main Street” coordinating body.  Ohio is one of only a handful of states in the country (Nebraska, Colorado and Connecticut are among the others) where the state Main Street/downtown revitalization effort is not housed in state government, but rather in an independent, non-profit corporation.  The National Trust for Historic Preservation took the initiative in 1998 to create a new, larger organization that would be involved in both downtown and traditional statewide preservation organization activities.

The result is therefore what we have today -- two statewides, two Boards of Trustees, two offices, two staffs, overlapping membership, and repeated requests to the same groups and individuals for support.  There's nothing else like it in the entire country.

Perhaps its not surprising that on a national basis, the unique nature of Ohio preservation is well-known.  Some years back, the story is told that a national preservation official was listening to a presentation on a particular topic, and some unusual and unexpected fact was mentioned… something with a relationship to the Buckeye State.  “Don’t worry about it,” an assistant whispered to his superior, “..its just an Ohio thing!”