Melba Hunt, a self-described antiques enthusiast and historical preservationist, did not intend to operate a museum. She just wanted to save an old barn from certain destruction and prevent a collection of furniture in an attic from getting thrown to the curb.

        After all, she thought, the barn is where inventive genius Charles F. Kettering led a group that created the automobile self-starter, and the furniture once belonged to Orville and Wilbur Wright, the Dayton brothers who perfected powered flight.

IF YOU GO

What: Kettering-Moraine Museum.     Where: 35 Moraine Circle S., Moraine, Ohio. From Cincinnati, take Interstate 75 north to Exit 47 (Moraine/Kettering). Turn right on Stroop Road. The museum is near the corner of Stroop Road and Kettering Boulevard.     When: 1-5 p.m. Sunday; other times by appointment.     Admission: $2 ages 12 and older, free for 11 and younger.     Information: (937) 299-2722.

        Today, in the shadow of mammoth General Motors and Delphi plants, the old barn and the collection of furniture are a sampling of the historic buildings and artifacts found at the Kettering-Moraine Museum. Featuring an outdoor section of seven preserved structures and an indoor area with antiques and memorabilia, the museum is a testament to Mrs. Hunt's passion for preserving Dayton's heritage.

        The museum's story began in 1972, when suburban Kettering and Moraine decided to use a former government building as a museum for the newly established Kettering-Moraine Historical Society. About the same time, Mrs. Hunt was leading an effort to preserve the Deeds Barn.

        Originally, the barn sat behind the home of Col. Edward A. Deeds, who was chairman of National Cash Register (NCR) before working with Mr. Kettering to produce the electric starter, which was patented in 1911. Col. Deeds transformed the barn into a workshop, where he helped Mr. Kettering perfect the device that eliminated the need for hand-cranking an automobile to get it started.

        In 1962, the barn was moved to a park in Kettering, where it remained until it was moved to the museum 10 years later and restored. The green-and-white structure is stocked with photos and memorabilia relating to Col. Deeds and Mr. Kettering. It also showcases a cherry red 1911 Buick Model 32 Roadster, which has one of the last manual starters made by General Motors. Relics from Frigidaire, including the first all-porcelain refrigerator and the millionth and last Frigidaire product made by General Motors in 1979, also are housed in Deeds Barn.

        “I have a deep interest in history,” said Mrs. Hunt, president of the Kettering-Moraine Historical Society and the museum's curator. “Not only do I like reading about it, I like preserving it so it is not lost and forgotten.”

        Relics from Orville and Wilbur Wright are displayed in the museum's Wright Room. Mrs. Hunt has duplicated rooms from Hawthorn Hill, the Wright brothers' estate now owned by NCR.

        Antique radios, floral-patterned chairs, dressers, draperies, beds, quilts and tables are among the items that once decorated the Wright family home. Orville Wright's derby hat sits on the dresser top. In a glass case, suits worn by the brothers are displayed, as is a piece of fabric from the their first airplane.

        “All of the furniture was stored in the attic for years,” Mrs. Hunt said. “I was told they (NCR) were planning to throw all of it out, so I got there in time and was able to save everything.”

        Last year, Mrs. Hunt saved another treasure — a seven-piece bedroom set used by Col. Deeds and his wife, Edith, on their yacht, the Lotosland. The furniture, Mrs. Hunt explained, was to be part of a garage sale in Dayton.

        “I was told about the bedroom suit and drove out to the couple's house,” Mrs. Hunt said. “They were asking $8,000, but I was able to get it for $2,000.”

        Col. Deeds and Mr. Kettering left NCR in 1909 to form Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co., or Delco, to manufacture the electric ignition system for Cadillac. The former Delco is now known as Delphi. Inside the museum, Mrs. Hunt's office includes a double desk once shared by the men. Shelves of the towering bookcases once owned by Mr. Kettering are lined with dozens of patent books dating to the early 1900s.

        Though the Wright brothers, Col. Deeds and Mr. Kettering are well-represented at the museum, Mrs. Hunt also details the region's lesser-known history. Even many Daytonians are not aware that the Shakers had a village in eastern Montgomery County during the 1800s. At the present site of a research park, Watervliet was founded in the early 1800s by families who migrated here from Kentucky. The community was abandoned by 1900 and later became a farm for the Dayton Mental Health Center before the Miami Valley Research Park was developed.

        The memory of Watervliet is preserved at the museum, where Mrs. Hunt showcases finely crafted Shaker furniture and clothing. Wooden seed boxes are situated on a table. The Shakers, Mrs. Hunt explained, were the first to package and sell seeds to the public.

        Mrs. Hunt's collection of Currier and Ives prints and antique quilts adorn the museum walls. A spacious room in the back of the museum contains portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln painted in reverse on glass, china that once belonged to a Confederate general, uniforms and memorabilia from both world wars and antique dolls and dressers, among other artifacts.

        “I have accumulated more items than I have space to display them,” Mrs. Hunt said. “Don't ask me how large the collection is. To be honest, I don't know. I haven't counted.”

        Outside, every structure that rests on the museum's grounds has a story.

        Two log cabins date to the early 19th century. The larger cabin was built in 1803 by David Laughead, a Revolutionary War veteran whose great-grandson was William B. Laughead, the creator of Paul Bunyan stories. The smaller cabin was constructed in 1820 by John Coons, who ventured to Ohio from Virginia on a covered wagon with his newlywed wife, Hannah Jones.

        Originally in Watervliet, the two-story green Miller's House was recovered by Mrs. Hunt from the former Shaker village site 8 miles away. At one time, the miller, wagon maker and blacksmith lived here, Mrs. Hunt thinks. The home is adorned with Shaker furnishings, including a bed from the early 1800s, a homespun wool blanket and an antique washstand.

        Mrs. Hunt also saved the red tannery barn that once stood in Watervliet. It was taken down piece by piece and reassembled by Amish craftsmen from Indiana.

        After the Deeds Barn, the George Newcom house is perhaps the museum's second most historic structure. The Greek Revival home was built in 1841 by Mr. Newcom, one of Dayton's pioneers who settled the city in 1796. Mrs. Hunt had the house brought to the museum from its original location in east Dayton and restored to its former glory. The four columns that grace the home's front porch mask a simple four-room interior. A parlor and a dining room/kitchen occupy the first floor, while two bedrooms are upstairs.

        Though Mrs. Hunt has more artifacts than she can display, she says she will not turn her back on a building or a relic that she deems historically significant.

        “I have a network of people who let me know if there is something out there I would be interested in,” Mrs. Hunt said. “You never know where the next item will come from.”
       

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