Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum History

Source: The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum

Website: http://www.wrhs.org/crawford/default.asp

• The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum,showcases nearly 200 antique, vintage, and classic automobiles and aircraft ranging from an 1897 Panhard et Levassor (the first enclosed automobile) to Bobby Rahal's 1982 March Indy Car (the first winner of the Cleveland 500). The collection documents the technological and stylistic development of the transportation industry, with a focus on early automobiles created in Cleveland. Between 1898 and 1931, more than 80 automotive models originated in the Cleveland area.
  
  The Crawford collection is one of the top ten in the nation, according to Car Collector magazine. We're the only place you won't mind bumper to bumper traffic! Northeastern Ohio's contribution to aviation is also showcased in the Crawford Museum. The cornerstone of the aviation collection is a circa 1912-14 Curtiss Hydroaeroplane flown by Cleveland's most prominent aviator, Al Engel.
  
  Although every vehicle is a rolling work of art, some automobiles and their manufacturers deserve particular mention, and Winton is certainly one of them. Cleveland's pioneer automobile builder, Alexander Winton, sold his first car in 1898. Winton was said, in 1903, to have had the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. On display in the Crawford Museum are the first Winton to be sold and a former (1902) land speed record holder, the Winton Bullet.
  
  The Crawford Collection of historic vehicles was donated to the Western Reserve Historical Society in 1963. Prior to that, the collection was privately owned by TRW, Inc. and was housed in the Thompson Products Auto Album.
  
  The Thompson Products Auto Album
  
  The Thompson Products Auto Album began almost as an accident. At the 1936/37 Great Lakes Exposition in Cleveland, a display of antique automobiles was part of the overall automotive displays. As the Expo ended, Thompson Products president Frederick C. Crawford heard that the exhibitor was going to literally junk one of the historical cars, a 1910 Duryea. Mr. Crawford, aware of the impact of the Duryea brothers to early automotive history, had Thompson Products purchase the car, and display it in their factory.
  
  Inspired by his rescue of the Duryea, Mr. Crawford set out to try and save other early automobiles threatened with destruction. He instructed his Thompson Products salesmen to keep on the lookout for antique automobiles as they served their sales regions, and to inform him if they located anything worthy of collecting. When they would locate an interesting car, they would wire Mr. Crawford, who would authorize the purchase and shipping of the vehicle back to Cleveland. Many of these cars were found in barns and garages, and could be had for virtually nothing.
  
  After several years, Thompson Products had amassed a growing collection, and Mr. Crawford desired to display it to the public. A former Cadillac showroom was leased on East 30th and Chester Avenue, and the collection was moved there from the main plant of Thompson Products. The new museum, known as the Thompson Products Auto Album opened for business on August 13, 1943, making it one of the earliest car museums in the country. In 1944, the museum was added to, as a 7/8 scale street of shops, set in the 1890s, opened. The storefronts, which included a print shop, saloon, blacksmith shop, barber shop, and other mainstays of small-town America, proved to be quite popular from the start, and was featured in many newspapers and magazines across America. Also at that time, Thompson Products began collecting airplanes, guided by the knowledge of Charles Hubbell, the noted aviation artist.
  
  In 1945, Ruth Swihart was named curator of the museum, and she would continue in that role for the next 26 years. At that time, and for many years thereafter, Swihart (later Franklin, after she married), was one of the only female curators in any automotive museum or collection in the U.S. She quickly gained the respect of her male peers, and gained a nationwide reputation for her antique car knowledge She was also the first woman on the Board of Trustees for the National Antique Automobile Club of America, and she soon gained a spot in Who's Who of American Women.
  
  By 1962, the lease was nearing expiration at East 30th and Chester, and Fred Crawford was interested in finding a new home for his renowned collection. Because of his interest in and support of the Western Reserve Historical Society, Crawford felt that it would be a proper home for his collection. By 1963, the deal was set for the collection to be transferred to the Historical Society, and construction commenced in 1964. In the meantime, the Thompson Auto Album was closed so the cars could be prepared for the move. As soon as the new building was completed, many of the cars from the former Thompson Auto Album were trucked to their new home, while others came in under their own power.
  
  The new museum, named the Frederick C. Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, opened to the public on September 11, 1965. Ruth Franklin (later Sommerlad after she remarried) coordinated the move from East 30th to the new building, and was promoted to director of the museum, a post she held until 1971, when she retired. In 1968, the Crawford Museum constructed a new street of shops, to replace the one from the old Thompson Auto Album.
  
  In 1867, the Western Reserve Historical Society was founded to preserve and present the history of all of the people of northeast Ohio. Today, it is the largest privately supported regional historical society in the nation. The reason we're called the Western Reserve Historical Society instead of the Cleveland or Northeast Ohio Historical Society has to do with how the area was settled. When the original colonies of the United States were formed, most of the western borders were left blank, since the settlers didn't know how far west the land went. If you look at the map below, you'll notice that northern Ohio is exactly west of Connecticut, so we were originally part of the state of Connecticut. In 1786, the State of Connecticut gave up its claims to Western lands of the United States, except for a portion of northeastern Ohio known as the Connecticut Western Reserve. Later, the land was sold to the Connecticut Land Company, which surveyed and settled the region, but the name Connecticut Western Reserve - or just Western Reserve - continued to be used to describe the northeastern section of Ohio.
  
  Our Mission Statement
  
  The Western Reserve Historical Society, a non-profit, cultural institution, serves as the primary center for the study and presentation of northeastern Ohio's human history. The Society exists to collect, preserve, interpret and exhibit the possessions and to collect and make available for scholarly research the documentation of the diverse peoples who have made the Western Reserve and northeastern Ohio their home. In addition, the Society acts to preserve and interpret historic properties within the same region. Included within the scope of the Society's interest are all the residents of the area, ordinary people as well as those of special distinction, beginning with the advent of written history to the present.
  
  Collections and exhibitions focus on the Western Reserve. Both permanent, and especially changing, exhibitions place the region in its larger historical context. The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum collections illustrate the history of the automotive industry in the Western Reserve as well as nationally and internationally.
  
  The Society's collections and exhibits serve as a major educational resource for library and museum users, including school children, the general public, and scholars. In order to communicate effectively with these audiences, exhibits, whenever appropriate, employ modern interactive technologies and techniques. The Society seeks to make its research materials, exhibits, and programs accessible to a diverse and inclusive audience, including the handicapped.