national road zane grey museum

The diorama of the Nat'l rd worth its weight in gold. So much to see in each section, and a bit of humor throughout. Too bad they did not have a booklet of the diorama. The person/s who made it was extremely talented!

Mrs. Too and Ben have had a long-standing interest in the National Highway, since the beginnings of it pass quite near our home. There is apparently quite a resurgence of interest in this early passage across the continent, and its history and importance are showcased here in an intriguing and enlightening manner. At the entrance to the museum, there is a Conestoga wagon (or "Prairie Schooner"). We were stunned by its size and commodiousness. Further along, there is a series of twelve dioramic displays showing its carving out of the wilderness and evolving from colonial times, all the way up to the arrival of a Curtiss Jenny flying machine. Various antique conveyances, sleighs, trucks, and autos are on display as well, showing how a primitive trail became the National Highway, then U.S. Route 40.BUT WAIT, FOLKS, THAT'S NOT ALL! Directly ahead lies a museum dedicated to a favorite son, Zane Gray. Ben was never much into the craze for "westerns", whether books or films, but from preteen days he devoured Gray's books about baseball and fishing. Imagine his delight at seeing the author's fighting chair, hat, and tackle, along with his old baseball gear and uniform all displayed prominently. There is even a replication of his working office. What a welcome bonus!If you are on an extended road trip, a two or three day layover in the Zanesville area is so very, very worthwhile. Even in our much larger cities it is hard to find this much history and Americana in one place.

We were visiting friends in Zanesvillle, OH and they suggested we all go to the museum including their two grand daughters ages six and 12.. Our guide was a retired professor who gave us a wonderful, imaginative tour explaining as we went along about the building of the National Road. The little figures in the lighted displays are very detailed as well as the life sized ones. The Zane Grey part of the museum was also well done. It humanized an author that we had all heard of but didn't know much about. And the pottery display is absolutely amazing. The girls enjoyed it as much as we did. It was an unexpected treat and well worth the visit.

We came here on our way home from our vacation and are thankful we did. The museum features three sections: The National Road, Zane Grey, and Art Pottery. The National Road section features many dioramas depicting the history of the National Road. It has many well done enlarged photos of the road through the years. The actual automobiles on display are very nicely restored. When you tour the Zane Grey section, you first watch a 30 minute film about his life. It is a little lengthy, but it makes the pieces in the displays come to life, so we're glad we watched it. Because of our own time constraints, and it was getting fairly close to closing time, we didn't walk through the pottery section. The museum director is a treasure! My mom was with us and wanted a specific Zane Grey book. She went and found one of the old copies and actually gave it to Mom and didn't charge her. She was very passionate about this museum and very knowledgeable. We would have liked to have spent more time there.

The museum tells the story about Zane Grey, a writer of western related books and stories that were read and published near and afar. You will also learn the history of the national road and what it was like to travel along the road back in the early 1800s. The museum is part of the dozens of facilities across the state owned and operated by the Ohio Historical Society. I enjoyed my visit.

We were set to go to the Wilds near Zanesville and had some time to spend before so we found this museum. We vaguely knew who he was, but it was very interesting- very small museum. Zane Grey wrote a lot of the first American Western stories and became the first millionaire writer. It also had a museum of the local pottery production and a history of the first national road- route 40. My wife and our friends and I found it more interesting than expected and would recommend it iif near Zanesville.

This small space focusing on three topics unique to the area. Zane Grey his father the national road tracer. And the poetry collection (ornamental ) famous for the area. Take your time sit and watch video. The ZANES father and grandfather were famous. Remember Zanesville was Not named after Zane Grey the writer.

I enjoyed the National Road part of this museum the most. The dioramas showing the various phases of the road were neat to look at & give you a sense of what a major undertaking it was during the 1800s. The other parts of the museum seemed thrown in to take up space- I didn't spend much time looking at the Zane Grey exhibits or the pottery collection. I wouldn't go out of my way to make a stop, but it's worth it if you're passing through the area or on a road trip and need to stretch.

The guide was very knowledgeable. We liked the National road part better than Zane Gray because we have not read much of his works. It is very well done and the girl who greeted us was so friendly. She gave us a little map of areas of the National road that have been preserved in the area and we hunted them up as well.

I've been there several times taking family visitors. It's just a nice day trip and get some history of the area at the same time.

We stopped because it was on our way, but got more than we expected. The museum itself is well done. But the tour with "Kat" was fantastic. Her enthusiasm and knowledge were great. She even gave us a map so that we could drive on a part of the original national road and see the 'S' bridge nearby. It was well worth the time.

If you're in the area - or even driving through and willing to take time for a short detour [it's just off interstate 70 at exit 164] - this is definitely worth a visit. We visited on a summer morning, arriving shortly after the museum opened, and thus were lucky to have it to ourselves for the first hour. We were impressed by the friendly and knowledgable staff. Your nominal admission fee includes an overview tour which provides very interesting historical tidbits, but the dioramas, the Conestoga wagon, and other transportation displays [carriages, early autombiles, etc.] are interesting enough that you will want to start at the beginning and go through again. [No charge for that, btw!] Western fiction and movie fans will enjoy the interesting information and displays about Zane Grey's life and career.There's also a rather nice mini museum-within-the-museum with some well-done displays and historical info about the local pottery industry.Although budgets are exceptionally tight right now for the Ohio Historical Society, the staff keep the museum [and restrooms] sparkling clean. A couple of the exhibit captions could use a bit of maintenance though, before they deteriorate.