The Ohio Statehouse Museum Education Center received an historic collection of items related to Ohio president William McKinley. Mary DeGenaro, a former Ohio Supreme Court Justice, donated the photographs and political ephemera, which were part of her family’s collection.
In addition to photographs and paper ephemera, the collection includes platters and dishes related to McKinley. One of the standout objects is a photograph of William McKinley in an open carriage in Niagara Falls, NY, taken just over an hour before his untimely assassination, Sept. 6, 1901.
“The Ohio Statehouse is an appropriate place for the collection since McKinley spent so many years there serving in the Governor’s Office, and we recognize Red Carnation Day every year on January 29, the day McKinley was born,” said Dayna Jalkanen, Deputy Director of Museum and Education for the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB).