The exhibit is an updated version of the BCHS 2015 weddings exhibit designed by Dr. Sara Butler, Miami University Art Department Professor Emeritus; and her student intern, Marcus Gray.
The exhibit showcases simple dresses to formal gowns worn by brides from 1839 to 1973 and reflects the changing styles of dresses and societal factors that influenced those changes.
A highlight of the exhibit is the dress and veil first worn by Mary Woods when she married Cyrus Falconer on Oct. 10, 1839. The dress was also worn more than 100 years later by two descendants who were married in 1953 and in 1963.
The veil has been used by eight brides after 1839, most recently by Travis Fitton, Mary’s great-great granddaughter, in her 1990 marriage, according to Richard Piland, trustee of BCHS.
Wedding photographs, written records and stories of the families associated with the dresses are included in the exhibit.
Among the other dresses on display are gowns worn by Rose Giddings Haines, a prominent suffragist; Ora Howald Urmston, daughter of a local hotel owner; Mathilda Zix Reinartz, whose husband became an Armco Steel executive; and June Miller Ivans, whose husband was a medical doctor in Hamilton for more than 50 years. The suit worn during his wedding in 1870 by Fairfield farmer Frederick Groh is also displayed.
Exhibit visitors will receive a free 14-page exhibit guide describing the historical context, photographs of each dress or suit, a written description of each gown and the stories of the families. The guide booklet and exhibit were made possible by a grant from the W. E. Smith Family Charitable Trust.
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