Ribbon Cutting: Naganna Exhibits Hall & History Learning Center & Carroll at 250 Exhibit

We hope you can join us for the ribbon cutting and opening of the Naganna Exhibits Hall & History Learning Center and rededication of the Shriver-Weybright Auditorium on Thursday, July 9 at 5 pm. At that time, we will open our new Carroll 250 exhibit, Carroll County at 250: People, Place, and the Making of History. The exhibit will showcase artifacts from the HSCC collection, in addition to collections from Carroll County families and historic sites.

Other spaces officially opening on July 9th:

• Doris J. Hull Event Serving Hall
• Barbara Shipley Guthrie Docent Lounge and Gallery
• Dave and Sharon Bollinger Kimmey Exhibit Room

We want to thank our staff, board of trustee members, volunteers, Samantha Dorsey, collections consultant, and especially the Shriver, Weybright, and Naganna families without whom this new space and exhibit would not be possible.

This is a free event and no registration is needed.

Questions? Please contact Laura Bankard, Outreach & Events Director, at lbankard@hsccmd.org or 410.848.6494 ext. 200.

More about the exhibit:

Carroll County at 250: People, Place, and the Making of History opens July 9th at the new Naganna Exhibits Hall & History Learning Center at 210 E. Main Street in Westminster. The exhibition will explore how local residents have lived, shaped, and remembered the nation’s founding ideals from the Revolutionary era to today. The chronological exhibition brings national history close to home. Through objects, documents, and stories drawn from the Society’s collections, regional scholarship, and community contributions, visitors will discover how everyday life in Carroll County reflects broader American change. Guided by three central ideas, place, people, and memory, the exhibition will highlight how geography, work, belief, and civic life have shaped the county across generations. Additionally, the exhibit will demonstrate how history is preserved, interpreted, and shared over time. The exhibit will be open to the public Wednesday -Friday 11am-4pm weekly and will run through the end of 2027.

The Historical Society of Carroll County (HSCC) is discovering a plethora of incredible artifacts that will be on exhibit for the anniversary year, including General Mordecai Gists’ Revolutionary era cane sword, a famed Bruce family silver creamer, original 18th century documents, commemorative items from the 1976 bicentennial year, and other never-before-seen items from area museums and private collectors. Several objects on loan include archival documents from Dickinson College in Carlise, PA and pastel paintings from Frederick Kemmelmeyer, on loan from the Maryland Center for History and Culture in Baltimore.

Samantha Dorsey, a consultant specializing in curation and exhibits in museums in the mid-Atlantic region, is serving as guest curator of Carroll County at 250: People, Place, and the Making of History.