Putnam County Museum
We are closed on Labor Day! (Monday, September 7th)
Past Exhibits
Ideas Wrought in Form
This exhibition features works made by local creators that prominently feature either wood or metal. Blacksmiths, furniture-makers, gunsmiths, wood-turners, and more loaned their masterful creations to make this exhibition come alive.
2025 Visual Art Exhibition
An annually-recurring collaboration with the Greencastle Arts Council, this exhibition featured dozens of local artists using a multitude of different media.
WJNZ
This exhibit showcased the pioneering efforts of Jinsie Bingham, the first woman in Indiana to own a commercial radio station. Under her leadership, the station became WJNZ-FM 94.3, transforming local media and paving the way for greater female representation in broadcasting.
2025 Student Art Show
Artworks by 156 talented young artists were featured in this year's Student Art Show. Works included photographs, illustrations, paintings, sculpture, and more. Submissions came from all across Putnam County. Thank you to Jason Asbury and our other sponsors and supporters for making this exhibit a reality!
Not Your Grandma's Quilt: Contemporary Quilts
Featured quilters meet for the October opening of 'Not Your Grandma's Quilt' exhibition. This show ran from October 2024 - January 2025 and featured 51 quilts made by quilters belonging to 'One Stitch at a Time' and 'Sew Many Stitchers' Quilt Clubs.
Willis Blatchley's Bugs
This exhibit contained specimens collected by Hoosier naturalist Willis Blatchley, award-winning entomological collections by Grace Aker and Justin Evans, Blatchley memorabilia loaned by John Garner, the Purdue Entomological Institute, and the Blatchley Nature Club. This exhibit was sponsored by Jedele Enterprises and organized by John Garner and many other generous volunteers.
2024 Visual Art Exhibition
The fifth annual Adult Visual Arts Exhibition took place in summer 2024 and featured sculpture, photography, textile art, illustrations, and more from 53 Putnam County artists.
American Art Pottery:
The Lane Ralph Collection
This collection of local resident Lane Ralph included the work of Roseville, Rookwood, Cowan, and Peters & Reed.
Heirloom Coverlets
A variety of heirloom coverlets, loaned from private collections, were featured at the museum. A coverlet show-and-tell day was held on November 12th, 2023.
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William Vietor:
Master Gunsmith
Muzzle-loading gun paraphernalia, including tools, patterns, and firearms created by William Vietor and those under his direction, were displayed at the Museum.
Exploration: A Retrospective of the Works of William Meehan
Exploration: A Retrospective of the Works of Bill Meehan was on display at the Putnam County Museum from October 8th, 2022 - February 11th, 2023.
Natural Wonders
Natural Wonders, a collection of images by Lynne Tweedie, opened on November 26th, 2022.
2022 Visual Arts Exhibition
This annual collaboration between the Putnam County Museum and the Greencastle Arts Council featured works by 35 artists — all of whom have lived, worked, studied or were born in Putnam County.
2022 Student Art Show
The 2022 Student Art Show featured over 140 works of art from talented K-12 students in Putnam County.
Out of Line: A Retrospective
"Out of Line - A Retrospective Exhibition" featured a large variety of works by Martha Donovan Opdahl.
100 Years of Rotary
This exhibit showcased some of the work Rotary has done in the community of Putnam County and beyond in the past 100 years.
Living Local: 2021 Visual Arts Exhibition
The 2nd Annual Visual Arts Exhibit: Living Local was sponsored by the Greencastle Arts Council. Over 40 artists’ works are on display, all from Putnam and surrounding counties.
2021 Student Art Show
The 2021 Student Art Show showcased a collection of art created by K-12 students in Putnam County, and was on display at the Putnam County Museum from March 2nd to April 24th.
2020 Visual Arts Exhibition
This exhibit had an open call for artists that live, work, attend school, or were born in Putnam County. 24 finalists were chosen to participate, and the exhibition was on display at the Putnam County Museum throughout the months of July and August.
2020 Student Art Show
The 2020 Student Art show featured works of art from K-12 students in Putnam County. Due to Covid-19, the exhibit was forced to close early, but may be viewed virtually by clicking the button below.
Beyond the Bright Red Counter
This multimedia exhibit, by DePauw student Konrad Rula, utilized sight, sound, and motion to tell the story of White Cleaners, a family-run business that operated in Putnam County for over 72 years.
Bearing Witness: "88 Cores"
A visual art exhibition of place and time in which nature and culture intersect: the global and the local connect. LA artist Peggy Weil's "88 Cores" video instillation made accessible to us ice cores from the Greenland ice sheet, showing global climate change.
About the Land
How has our use of Putnam County and its resources changed since the founding familes started populating the hills, hollers, and flatlands? How did we feed our families then? How do we feed our families now? Various artifacts and pieces of equipment told the story of then and now.