Centerville Historical Museum

CURRENT EXHIBITS

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Hollywood Comes To Centerville

Hollywood comes to Centerville tells the story of the Kalmus family who summer in Centerville for several decades bringing many of their Hollywood friends with them. Herbert Kalmus intrigued with filmmaking and the color motion picture process developed the first successful color film which led to the incorporation of the Technicolor motion Picture Corporation. His wife Natalie Kalmus served as color supervisor on almost every Technicolor film from 1934 – 1949. Walt Disney's 2 hour cartoon, "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs," was made in 1937. This color film was first in the film industry, swiftly followed by “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind” in 1939. Dr. Kalmus purchased a ‘gentleman’s estate’ in Centerville and gave it the name, "Fernbrook." He and his first wife, Natalie, hosted many celebrities at the estate including Clark Gable, Cecil B. DeMille, Walt Disney, Gloria Swanson and Audrey Hepburn. It became the summer retreat for child actress Cammie King known for her roll with Clark Gable as Bonnie Blue Butler in “Gone with the Wind”.

Life in the 1940s

What was it like living in the 1940’s? There was a world war, shortages and rationing of good and services, and a desire to live as normally as possible. This exhibit which examines some of the topics which surrounded everyday living in 1940’s America. What was the fashion of the day, what did children do that is different from today, what are the ways an ordinary household carried on with shortages and rationing. Utilizing garments, toys, uniforms, gadgets, advertisements, news stories, and images from the period, this exhibit reflects the era of the 1940s and by contrast and comparison illustrates how different sixty years have made.

the WAIST

Selecting thirty 19th century waists from the collection, we have compiled fine examples of the popular types, styles and fashions of that century.

Speakeasy

This examines the history of those tumultuous times on the 100 years anniversary of prohibition, in the exhibit Speakeasy. Utilizing museum objects, photographs and historical accounts of the day we recount the story of the prohibition era including: the bootlegging of rum runners row, Cape Cod’s involvement, the phenomena that became known as the Speakeasy, and Centerville’s own Speakeasy.

18th & 19th Century Small Armaments

This exhibit examines the technological changes of small armaments between 1780 and 1875, using rifles, swords, daggers and bullets from the museum collection.

Battles; Spies; Cooties The Great War

1918 is the hundredth anniversary of the United States’ involvement in the Great War. Centerville Museum examines the major battles, the development of espionage, the changes in the technology of warfare and the personal accounts of World War One veterans.