The
Hollister-Parry Museum, which is located at 217 Eastern Avenue, was originally
built as a home in 1858 for Nathan Hollister.
Hollister later sold the ten-room home to Dr. Armstrong who leased it to
the Monroe County Children’s Home before selling to Dr. John R. Parry in
1889. In 1974, the Monroe County Park
District bought the house from the estate of Georgia Parry, daughter of Dr.
John Parry. The Monroe County Historical Society leased the museum from the
Park District and began restoration. The
museum was first opened on July 4, 1976, showing only the two rooms it had
re-finished. The last room was completed
in 1982. The antiques inside the museum give an idea of what an upper-middle
class home of the late 1800's or early 1900's was really like.
In
1973, the Yaussy-Winkler dairy farm was bought at
public auction from the Winkler family following the death of Herman
Winkler. The dairy barn and all of the
equipment was purchased for around $2,500 by two Monroe County citizens on
behalf of the Monroe County Historical Society.
Later, the two gentlemen were reimbursed by the Monroe County Park
District and the dairy barn and all of the equipment was moved to a site behind
the Parry Museum.
Also
standing behind the Parry Museum, is the Byers/Oak Ridge schoolhouse.
Originally, the one-room schoolhouse was located in Washington Township. In 1986, the school was donated to the MCHS
by Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Jacobs. In 1987,
the school was moved, stone-by-stone to the Parry Park grounds, where it stands
today.