About this collection:

➤ The Wheeling Civic Garden Center was founded in 1938 by the Garden Club of Wheeling. Its mission, as stated in the organization’s by-laws, was to inspire, promote and develop an interest in gardens, gardening, and civic beautification; to stress the knowledge of horticulture and conservation. While the organization was located in and often partnered with Oglebay Park, it operated independently of the Wheeling Park Commission. From 1963 to 2018, the Garden Center maintained its headquarters in the Alene Kraft Memorial Garden Center, which also contained an extensive horticulture library. The membership was comprised of local garden clubs from communities in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Programs run by the Garden Center included lectures, plant workshops, annual plant sales, and flower shows.

The collections consist of the records of the Wheeling Civic Garden Center, from 1930 to 2000. The records of the Garden Club of Wheeling, the predecessor group, are also included. Records include various editions of the groups’ Constitutions and By-laws, meeting minutes (1930-1958), event programs, club brochures, and photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of scrapbooks compiled by members from the 1930s through the early 1970s. Of note are the scrapbooks from the early 1940s, which document the organization’s efforts to promote Victory Gardens during World War II. The scrapbooks contain a rich variety of material, including photographs of the Oglebay Park building and grounds, flower shows and Garden Center workshops. Also included in the scrapbooks are newspaper articles documenting the Center’s activities in the community as well as the monthly Garden Center Bulletin. The Garden Center closed in October 2018 and disbanded its membership.

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