“When we were given the other building, that allowed us to put the Pickwick up for sale,” said Ashworth. “And that allowed us to put the earnings to help our endowment.”
Ashworth said the building was purchased by Christine Lohr, an artist based in Iowa. She could not be reached for comment, Monday afternoon.
The sales price wasn’t available Monday, but the historical society purchased the building in January 2000 for $190,000, according to the Butler County Auditor’s website. The auditor has placed a value of $148,370 on the building and land, according to the website.
The Middletown Community Foundation donated the yellow-and-white, two-story house at 23 N. Broad St., to the Middletown Historical Society because it is “in line” with the foundation’s work in assisting with downtown revitalization, according to Executive Director T. Duane Gordon.
The historical society will move 13 years worth of Middletown history on Aug. 1 and Aug. 5 into the recently donated building that’s a few blocks north of the Pickwick Building.
“The reason we bought (the Pickwick Building) is we had been given the Armco archives, which comprised of about 50 boxes — and we had no place to put them,” said Ashworth. “We’ve accumulated a lot of artifacts.”
The new building on Broad Street gives the society more space for exhibits, and there is an auditorium that allows for larger presentations and meetings.
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