WWI Poster Preservation

The Lake County Historical Society  is committed to ensuring, through our collections, research library, educational outreach activities and publications, the preservation of Lake County historical records and cultural traditions. We use Society resources and partnerships to engage the community, assess changing needs and be a responsible advocate for the local arts and culture community. We offer a wide range of changing exhibits, programs, and workshops for both adults and youth and actively engage the community through outreach programs.

We welcome over 30,000 people every year to view our exhibits and collections which consist of hundreds of thousands of objects ranging from genealogy files to founding families' furniture, original documents from President James A. Garfield to Lake County engineering maps from when the county was formed. 

With this campaign, we are looking to preserve and archive our vintage WWI poster collection. We currently have 60 posters that are valued well into the tens of thousands of dollars and some that are incredibly rare. The posters were donated by Jack Daniels who acquired them from his uncle, Ben Daniels, a Lake County WWI veteran. 

There are currently 2,334 drafted Lake County WWI veterans on record. The Lake County Historical Society holds WWI military collections outside of these posters including William Childs' Certificate of Commendation for service and being wounded signed by Woodrow Wilson, Harry Winsor’s Certificate of Commendation for service in the American Field Ambulance Service, drill and service original photographs, the complete uniform of Benjamin Daniels, a Hungarian gas mask, a Blue Star window flag, ration token, mess kit, the uniform of Herbert Rogers, a red cross nurse white cotton head wrap and white cotton smock, and birthday cards to soldiers from their families. 

Your donation today will help the Society preserve these rare posters for future generations and will allow them to be displayed in our museum. Currently, these posters are unable to be brought into public view, but your contribution can help us share this time in history with veterans, visitors, and students.  

Honor our veterans and military history - donate today!