New Indian Ridge Museum

Matt Nahorn worked to reassemble Vietzen's collection which was largely sold at a public auction in the 1990s. The New Indian Ridge Museum (NIRM) received loaned or donated historical artifacts, from the Amherst Historical Society, Ohio Archaeological Society, and private citizens. Nahorn honored Vietzen by using the latter name of his former museum. Vietzen had originally named the facility as the Vietzen Archaeological Museum[1] that was accessible by invitation only.

In recent years, the NIRM has expanded its focus to ecology and the conservation of wildlife habitats. The NIRM instituted the Beaver Creek Watershed Protection Group (BCWPG), to limit changes to the land that could augment flooding and pollution. The BCWPG placed an emphasis on maintaining floodplains and riparian zones along Beaver Creek and the creation of private trails to observe the natural beauty and wildlife of the area. NIRM has periodically made the property available to local academic institutions, including Lake Ridge Academy, and provided tours for the students and faculty. The museum's goals include educating students and other interested individuals on the natural, prehistoric, and pioneer history of the area.

Most of NIRM's artifacts are based on the collections of the past Indian Ridge Museum's curator, Raymond C. Vietzen. Vietzen was born near Elyria, Ohio in 1907. In 1940[2] he founded the Vietzen Archaeological Museum at his family home, located at the corner of West Ridge and Fowl Road in Elyria. For over fifty-five years, Vietzen and his wife, Ruth Bliss[3] worked to document the prehistory and history of the local area and other locations in the United States. Vietzen, an automotive mechanic, authored seventeen books, was a prolific artist, consummate showman and master of hyperbole,[4] He claimed to be the grandson of Baron Karl Von Zimmerman. However, records in Eßlingen, Germany, note that Vietzen's grandfather was a bäckermeister and not a Baron).[5] He was a purported expert on the Erie Indians (a.k.a. Cat Nation), while absurdly alluding to "raccoon" as being the source of that "Cat" connection.[6][7][8]

His museum was often used by local-area schools and organizations. Although Vietzen repeatedly assured the community, many of whom had donated artifacts to the museum,[9] that his collection would never be sold, his entire estate was auctioned piece-by-piece after his death.[10]

Vietzen was the last living founding member of the Ohio Indian Relic Collectors Society (now the Archaeological Society of Ohio).

Matt Nahorn, a 2008 graduate of Lake Ridge Academy, is the New Indian Ridge Museum's founder and curator. In 2006, he worked with the Lake Ridge Academy to create the Lake Ridge Archives, in an effort to preserve the school's rich history. He currently serves as an archivist at Lake Ridge Academy.

Nahorn graduated from local Oberlin College in Environmental Studies and continues his research on his hometown and local environmental issues. He has begun to work with the Lake Ridge Academy staff to establish a historical inventory of the school. He maintains the NIRM museum complex. The museum was featured in local newspapers, such as the Lorain Morning Journal and Elyria Chronicle Telegram.

As a result of Nahorn's conservation efforts, members of the Archaeological Society of Ohio petitioned the Kentucky State Government to grant him the honorary title Kentucky Colonel in 2007, the same honorary title that had been bestowed to Vietzen.

In 1812, Jacob Shupe, settled[11] in what would later become Amherst Township, Lorain County, Ohio. Shupe is believed to have built the house in the first-half of the 19th century, possibly as early as 1816. Shupe operated his own sawmill[12] nearby, providing a ready source of lumber. He also had a very large family with about 11 children. The lumber access and large family likely prompted construction of a larger house. However, the original portion of the Shupe House is small. The existing Shupe house is approx. 600 feet from the well-established roadway. There was at least one other 19th-century dwelling upon the original Shupe property, but located much closer to the roadway, and adjacent to Shupe's "mill".[13]

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  A mature forest with a tree over 250 years old is a part of the wildlife preserve.
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  Beaver Creek and its watershed are being actively maintained.
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  Beaver Creek expands into its floodplain after a sizable rainfall.
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  Raymond C. and Ruth Vietzen conducted numerous archaeological explorations in the 1940s in Kentucky and Tennessee.

• ELIJAH BOARDMAN 'Papers' (var. repositories)
• ELIJAH BOARDMAN 'Papers' (Clements Library, U.of MI)
• New Indian Ridge Museum Website
• Firelands Express Newsletter
• Rootsweb.com Jacob Shupe
• Lorain County Journal
• NIRM