May 19 is time-warp day in Butler County.

        Special activities and exhibits will explore 200 years of life along the Great Miami River — a countywide celebration of what used to be.

        The Butler County History Collaborative will link 17 historic sites, open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for “History Lives ... in Butler County.”

        Admission is free and open to the public.

        The sites, some of which are open especially for this event, tell the collective history of Butler County, from its pioneer and canal days in the late 1700s and early 1800s to its industrial era of the late 1800s and 1900s.

        “People won't be able to visit all the sites in one day, but they can take in quite a few,” said Rhonda Smith of Butler County MetroParks.

        Many of the places represent years of work by dedicated volunteers who struggled to secure the sites, raise money to restore them and then open them to the public.

        “We've worked and worked to try to hang on to our old building,” said Helen Wessel, a mover behind the Elisha Morgan Farm Mansion in Fairfield. “Our operating committee racked its brains trying to figure out additional uses for the place. They've come up with some over the years. One family even used it for a wake.”

        Some recently formed sites will be open: the Pickwick Building in Middletown, Monroe's museum, and Oxford's Black Covered Bridge, which will receive an Ohio bicentennial historical marker.

        Also open: the Butler County Archives and courthouse in Hamilton; Middletown Historical Society Canal Museum; Smith Library of Regional History in Oxford; Bebb Cabin at Gov. Bebb Preserve west of Ross; Pioneer Farm and House Museum at Hueston Woods State Park near Oxford; McGuffey Museum and Beta Theta Pi Museum and Archives in Oxford; Chrisholm Historic Farmstead near Trenton; Trenton Historical Society Museum; Elisha Morgan Farm Mansion in Fairfield; Butler County Historical Society Museum; the Lane Hooven House; and the Butler County Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneer Monument in Hamilton.

        Other events continue May 20.

        In Hamilton, the Dayton Lane Historic Area will hold its Promenade of Homes from 1 to 6 p.m. The event showcases the city's large Victorian homes and gardens and raises money for neighborhood projects.

        Tickets purchased in advance cost $8; those bought that day, $10. They may be obtained at the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, 201 Dayton St. For more information, see the group's Internet site at www.historicdaytonlane.org.

        The county's early history will also be celebrated at the annual Salute to the Pioneers at 2:30 p.m. at the historic Indian Creek Church and Burial Ground.

        The event includes a bagpiper, old-time music and an appearance by the Talawanda Long Rifles. Local historian Nancy Gulick will speak on “Canals in Early America.” She is a member of the Ohio Canal Society.

        The church was built in about 1830 and made of handmade bricks fired on the site. It is one of Ohio's oldest church structures of its kind. It is on Indian Creek Road in Reily Township, south of Oxford.

        For more information on the county history events, call Butler County MetroParks at 867-5835.

       Randy McNutt's column appears on Saturday. Contact him at 755-4158 or at The Cincinnati Enquirer, 7700 Service Center Drive, West Chester, OH 45069.
       

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