Programs and Events
Upcoming Events
2024-2025
Merchant Lecture Series
"Preserving/Saving Youngstown: Building Community through Dialog"
Stephanie Godsey
Friday September 27, 2024 @ 6 PM
Administrative assistant at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society presents the Latin American/ Puerto Rican perspective on the shutdowns and the demise of the steel industry here in Youngstown.
Brooke Bobovnyik
Friday October 25, 2024 @ 6PM
"The Arms Family: A Tale of Iron, Steel, Connection, and Preservation."
Brooke Bobovnyik of the curatorial staff at the Arms Family Museum in Youngstown, Ohio lectures on the Arms family relationship to industry and culture of the Mahoning Valley.
Rick Rowlands
Friday November 15, 2024 @ 6 PM
President and Founder of the Youngstown Steel Heritage Foundation in Hubbard, Ohio opens the valve about steam power used by the rails and mills in the steel valley.
Belinda Weiss
Friday January 24, 2025 @ 6 PM
Director of McKinley Memorial Museum and President of the Niles Rotary Club share her thoughts on McKinley's presidency and the Dingley Act of 1897, its impact on the American economy, labor, and steel industry.
CARL KOVACH
Friday February 21, 2025 @ 6 PM
CNC program and Machinist for the Excellence Center presents his experiences on the recent YHCIL salvage of McDonald Steel; his take-aways and the reason why it is important for education and culture.
Dr. Martha Pallante
Friday March 21, 2025 @ 6PM
Darling Endowed Chair and Tenured Professor of History at Youngstown State University, draws on her knowledge and experience as she exposes the history and significance, culturally and industrially, of the 1924 Ku Klux Klan riots in Niles, Ohio.
Dr. Amy Fluker
Friday April 11, 2025 @ 6pm
"Strange Nights and Horrible Visitors: Ghost stories of the American Civil War."
Reeder endowed and tenured Associate Professor of History at Youngstown State University takes us to the supernatural world of the 19th century with her insight on ghosts of Ohio and the Civil War era, a truly haunting time for all Americans.
Reoccurring Programs
Re-Dedication "Discovering Black Youngstown"
Join us as we celebrate the acceptance of the 2024 Academy of History Public History Award!
This Exhibit will be open to the public until May 2025
Guided tours: Life At Home | The Locker Room | Immigrants, Women, and Coal Mining
These specialized tours at the museum allows participants to encounter various exhibits intended to trigger past memories and enable them to socialize and share their experiences of when they worked, raised their families, and were more socially active. Research has shown positive outcomes from similar programs, which have a meaningful impact on people living with dementia and their caregivers.
Archived Events
Unique & Rare Motorcars Coming to Salem and Youngstown
The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor proudly welcomes the Classic Car Club of America representing 7000 "full classic" autos. “Full Classic” automobiles are those cars in the official registry of the Classic Car Club of America and include cars built between 1915 and 1948, essentially cars built between the two world wars of the 20th Century.
Cars will start arriving Wednesday, July 10th in Salem, with a private gathering at a new classic car museum in Salem. Thursday’s drive will take the cars to a private car collection in Hartville, Ohio and then on to the Canton Classic Car Museum in Canton, then back to Salem and to another private car collection Thursday evening. On Friday, we will start off with another private car museum in Salem, then on to visit the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor at 10 am July 12, The Arms Mansion and the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, with a drive through Millcreek Park on our way back to Salem.
“As this entire event is being hosted by the Classic Car Club of America Educational Foundation, it is our mission to share the knowledge we have of these magnificent cars with the general public and to engage public interest in our unique registry of Pre-World War II vintage automobiles”, according to Dave Johnson of Salem, the event coordinator and past president of the Classic Car Club of America.
Augmented Reality Implementation to Promote Inclusion
Jennifer Moats, as part of an Independent Project for American Studies presents this Augmented Reality project with the objective to promote inclusivity by developing a comprehensive and user-friendly guideline for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, improving their experience at museums. This all inclusive guide will provide in-depth knowledge of exhibits, artifacts, and layout which precisely addresses the needs of its targeted visitors. Its range covers creating a guide, enhanced with sign language videos and visuals supported by written descriptions to capture all facets of exhibits. To improve the end-user experience, the guide will utilize modern technologies such as augmented reality or web-based videos, allowing users to individualize their tour and traverse the museum at their own pace. By combining these elements, the project aims at reshaping barriers to accessibility in cultural establishments and creating a more welcoming environment for deaf individuals.
This is a FREE event
April 26, 2024 at 5 pm
In honor of Dr. Thomas Leary, who was originally to speak, we will be having a Memorial to commemorate his life long work of the Steel Industry
This is a FREE event
April 19, 2024 at 5:30 pm
The Robert W. Reeder I Distinguished Lecture in Nineteenth-Century History Presents
Dr. Brian Matthew Jordan, Enduring Civil War: Life, Death, and Survival in America's Defining Conflict
Dr. Brian Matthew Jordan is Associate Professor of U.S. Civil War History and Chair of the History Department at Sam Houston State University, where he has taught since 2015. Professor Jordan earned his undergraduate degree in Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College, and MA, M.Phil., and PhD degrees in History at Yale. His first book, Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War, was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in History and, in its dissertation form, won the George Washington Egleston Prize and the John Addison Porter Prize.
This is a Free Event
April 18, 2024 at 6 pm
Carl Kovach will share 30 Years of Engineering and Machining Parts
This is a FREE event
Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 5:30 pm
Join us at the Steel Museum for Retrospective of a Machinist and Its future by Carl Kovach Machining Parts Program Chair Machining Operation, Eastern Gateway
YHCIL Presents the Third North Side Farmers' & Makers Indoor Market! Come support local vendors with handcrafted foods and crafts. Shop local, tour the museum and enter to win a door prize donated from our participating vendors.
Saturday March 9, 2024 from 11am- 3pm.
Rick Rowlands will highlight his work on the Tod Engine and Youngstown Steel Heritage
This is a FREE event
Friday, February 16, 2024 at 5pm
YHCIL Presents the Second North Side Farmers' & Makers Indoor Market! Come support local vendors with handcrafted foods and crafts. Shop local, tour the museum and enter to win a door prize donated from our participating vendors.
Saturday February 10, 2024 from 11am- 3pm.
Dr. Martha Pallante will be discussing the Niles Fire Brick and the Role of the Italian American Work Force
This is a FREE event
Join us for light refreshments and discussions
Friday, January 26, 2024 at 6pm
Exhibit Opening February 23, 2023 5:30pm
Free to the Public
Oral History Workshop
When did conducting oral histories begin? What is an oral history? What can I do with an oral history? From preserving family memories to collecting "eyewitness accounts" of local and national events, oral histories are a great way to learn about the past and can be used in a variety of ways.
Attend this workshop where you will learn the history of oral interviews, how to conduct them using best practices, and how to transcribe and use them.
This workshop is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Ohio Humanities Council.
10-1 Saturday, Oct. 28
Reservations preferred 330-941-1314
Thursday, October 5, join the Friends of the YHCIL for light refreshments and the opening celebration for this exhibit.
At 6pm, there will be a brief presentation on coal and its significance to our area. Come and test your knowledge of local coal history in the Mahoning Valley.
The exhibit open from Oct 4 - Nov 30.
An excellent program for historical groups and other non-profit groups to improve their skills in generating professional looking images for social media or print.
Free to the public.
History Across the Humanities
Thursday - Saturday February 23-25
Join the YSU Department of Humanities and Social Sciences along with visiting professors, students, and presenters for the 2023 HATH Conference.
The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor will open a new exhibit entitled “ Hearing Our Voices: Discovering Black Youngstown” in the main lobby and Harry Meshel classroom on the first night of the History Across the Humanities conference on February 23, 2023 at 5:30 pm, followed by a short program and reception. The new exhibit is chaired and created by Dr. Donna DeBlasio, professor emeritus of Youngstown State University
The presentations will be hosted at the museum and portions will be livestreamed on our YouTube.
Ohio History Day Region 4 Competition
Saturday April 2
Ohio History Day is an affiliate of National History Day (NHD), an exciting program that makes history come alive for students. Students learn history by doing history. Students conduct historical research that leads to imaginative exhibits, documentaries, original performances, websites and scholarly papers. NHD reinforces classroom teaching by rewarding students of all abilities for their scholarship, individual initiative and cooperative learning.
Click here for more information and registration.