A historical society is about to get a new home and a historical treasure will get some much-needed TLC in the process.
Crystal City Board of Education members voted June 27 to lease the small building known as the “Little Girl Scout House” to Crystal City. Then, the city plans to sublet the property to the Crystal City Historical Society to serve as its headquarters.
The house is at 500 Strawberry Alley across Mississippi Avenue from Crystal City Elementary School.
The deal had been in the works for some time, said former Crystal City Superintendent Matt Holdinghausen before his retirement on June 30. Crystal Reiter is the new superintendent.
“We’ve been working on this (deal) for a year or a year and a half, going back and forth,” Holdinghausen said. “We’ve always been taking care of the building, and we always wanted to try and find something to do with it. We’re all excited to see this happen.
“I think it’s a great fit. I’m glad this is one of the last things I will do.”
The term of the lease is 10 years, with the option to renew up to two times for an additional five years per renewal. The lease payment is set at zero, and the city will be responsible for property taxes, utilities and insurance. Either party has the right to terminate the lease with 90 days’ notice.
Back to life
The Crystal City Historical Society, a nonprofit group, has been struggling to maintain its identity in recent years.
It went defunct for a time, and was revived recently by a small group of enthusiastic residents.
Society president Jessica Hamlin was drawn in almost by accident.
“We moved here seven years ago,” she said. “I enjoy cemeteries, and I was driving around getting familiar with some of the local ones. The Old Town Cemetery had a locked gate, and I just had to get in there. That’s how I got involved with (the Historical Society.)”
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the group fell by the wayside.
“Jack Ginnever got in touch with me in 2021 and said, ‘Hey, are you interested in getting this going again?’” Hamlin said. “Initially, there was talk of dissolving it, of consolidating with the Jefferson County Heritage and Historical Society. But then they got the church,” referring to the former Victoria United Methodist Church, which was donated to the Jefferson County Heritage and Historical Society last year and now serves as its headquarters.
The Crystal City Historical Society had been operating at 126 Mississippi Ave. next to Crystal City Hall for about 17 years, but with the announcement in 2022 of the impending James Hardie Industries plant coming to Crystal City, the city needed to reclaim that space.
“We were looking around at what could be done with the society,” Crystal City Mayor Mike Osher said. “The Girl Scout House is one of the older buildings in town and has its own history, which is closely linked with the former PPG plant. The school has kept it up, but they haven’t had a real use for it. This makes perfect sense, I think.”
Protecting our history
The Girl Scout House was built in 1931 by volunteers using materials donated by PPG and features handmade details incorporating the trefoil, the Girl Scout symbol. Walkways and a backyard fire pit are made from kiln bricks from the PPG glass factory.
“I think the city has a responsibility to protect and honor its history,” Osher said. “My goal is to make that history available to our citizens. The society has done a great job of that, and I think having the headquarters at the Girl Scout House will help. That little house is a place people like to see.”
Some improvements to the house are in the works.
Also on June 27 the city signed a contract with Bone Heating and Cooling to replace the building’s HVAC system at a cost of $5,995. That work was underway on Tuesday.
“Hardie donated (new) siding, and we’re hoping to get volunteers to do (the installation),” Osher said. “We were paying the utilities already at the old place, so that won’t be a change.
“It’s not going to cost that much, honestly, and it’s worth it to protect and preserve our history. The school and city working together, that’s right where we need to be.”
Hamlin said she is not sure when the society will move into the building because it will depend on how long it takes to complete the renovations.
“I’m not sure where the city is in terms of level of urgency,” she said. “But my guess is end of summer.”
Into the future
Hamlin said other improvements and upgrades to the building are needed.
“Just general repair to both the interior and exterior,” she said. “It needs a new roof. The concrete floor used to have radiant heat and now there’s a big crack running the length of the main room. There may be some plumbing and electrical repair needed, and we need to replace doors and hardware. We also need fire extinguishers.”
Hamlin said the society hopes to eventually offer a buy-a-brick program to help raise funds for the project. A GoFundMe page has been established with a goal to raise $20,000 to help fund repairs as well as ongoing projects.
“We are going to need a lot of things to get this to happen,” she said.
Looking ahead, Hamlin said she and the other society members are excited to expand the group’s role.
“We’d love to develop and improve a relationship with the school, being so close,” she said.
“The library as well, being only a block away. We could have some fun competitions – maybe a cursive-
deciphering contest. We’ve toyed with the idea of doing hot chocolate with Santa or something like that.”
Hamlin said she hopes to expand the museum’s scope as well.
“PPG was a huge part of city history, but it’s not the only part,” she said. “There are historical elements that are definitely lacking, like Black history, and then going further back to Native American history and the fur trappers and French influence.
“Honor Society kids need service hours; maybe we can get them involved in open hours, being docents, that kind of thing.”
The Crystal City Historical Society welcomes new members. Dues are $20 per year.
For more information, go to the society’s Facebook page.
“They can also email us at
crystalcityhistory@gmail.com. We’d love to see this group grow,” Hamlin said.