Col. Matthew W. Nahorn & his New Indian Ridge Museum
Col. Matthew W. Nahorn is a lifelong resident of Amherst, Ohio. He is an involved northern Ohio local historian and is active in environmental issues (particularly, watershed awareness), having earned a B. A. in environmental studies from Oberlin College. He officially founded the New Indian Ridge Museum on November 24, 2000 at the 1811 Historic Shupe Homestead.
Col. Nahorn and his family moved into the historic 1811 Shupe Homestead in 1992. After researching the property and house, he was able to learn about the early Amherst, Ohio area. This led him to start the New Indian Ridge Museum in 2000, a private, personal endeavor. Col. Nahorn has also become increasingly interested in local environmental issues. With a background in environmental studies, he continuously advocates for low impact development. He also manages the Nahorn Family’s private wildlife preserve and Nahorn Arboretum along the Beaver Creek.
In 2008, Col. Nahorn graduated from Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville, Ohio. Before graduating, he worked with then-head of Upper School, Mr. Michael Shaulis, to found the Lake Ridge Academy Archives, as a repository to preserve historical materials and educate others on the school’s rich history. There, he served as volunteer archivist for several years after graduation.
In November 2011 Col. Nahorn was named a Curator of the Amherst Historical Society, and he continues to serve on the Society’s curator committee. He has also served on the Society’s Board of Directors. As stated on their website, “The Amherst Historical Society, a nonprofit 50lc(3) organization, was founded in April of 1973 and currently boasts about 350 members. The Society became accredited in 1990 by the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums (OAHSM). Only about 15% of Ohio museums and historical societies have achieved such accreditation.” The Quigley Museum and Historical Society grounds (with several buildings that comprise the “Sandstone Village” area) are located at the intersection of N. Lake Street and Milan Ave. in Amherst.
As an involved local historian, knowing that action in the community accomplishes tasks, since 2013 Matt has worked to restore and maintain Amherst’s Old Spring, the site of the founding of what would become Downtown Amherst, Ohio. This natural, unconfined aquifer seep spring still flows today and is a major reason for the location of Downtown Amherst, Ohio.
Col. Nahorn has served as a Trustee of the Brownhelm Historical Association and a Trustee of the Sandusky Bay Chapter of the Archaeological Society of Ohio. He currently serves on the board of the Lorain County Historical Society.
Col. Matthew W. Nahorn graduated from Oberlin College with a B. A. degree in Environmental Studies (classes also taken in history and archaeology), having a particular focus on watersheds: specifically how land-use affects water quality and stream bank integrity. He continues to actively maintain his family property (the Historic Shupe Homestead), while acting as a lifelong student of our local environment and history. He currently serves as a citizen representative on the Black River Area of Concern Advisory Committee.
Looking to the future, Col. Nahorn worked closely with his family and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to permanently conserve the natural resources of the 1811 Historic Shupe Homestead and Beaver Creek mainstem that flows through the family property. At this time, the Wildlife Preserve and Nahorn Arboretum were formally established on the Historic Shupe Property. A Land Conservation Easement was placed on the property, conserving its important natural resources, in perpetuity. Col. Nahorn continues to maintain the 1811 Historic Shupe Homestead and Nahorn Arboretum.
Col. Matthew W. Nahorn: A Personal Story
I became interested in local history when my family began working on our house in 1998. We found historic pottery sherds, fragments of trade pipes, an 1878 Indian Head Penny, a nineteenth century power flask, and many other artifacts (all now preserved in my Museum). We also found a German belt buckle nearby, in the Beaver Creek. These pieces piqued my interest in the history of my family’s property. My mother, Uncle Zack, and I went to the Lorain County Courthouse/Administration building in downtown Elyria, Ohio to research the deeds to the property. These deeds dated so far back that we had to trek to the basement of the building. Through one deed, we learned that Jacob Shupe (1778- 1832), the first settler in Amherst, Ohio, purchased 300 acres of land from Elijah and Maryann Boardman for $600. The property extended all the way to Lake Erie and “encompassed the water of Beaver Creek.”
Jacob Shupe initially built a crude, one-story cabin for use as a temporary home. Soon after, he constructed the frame house that stands today — the first frame house in Amherst (c. 1812). (The aforementioned cabin was later acquired by Col. Vietzen and ended up on the grounds of his Indian Ridge Museum.) Shupe cut a mill race into the floodplain of Beaver Creek, and he operated the first lumber mill, distillery, and grist mill in the area. Jacob and his wife Catharine had eleven children. He was the father of the first native-born pioneer child in Amherst (Betsy Shupe) and participated in the first funeral in the Amherst area. Unfortunately at age 54, a log fell on him in his sawmill, and he was killed. The Shupe mills made it practical for settlers to make their homesteads here, as the closest mills were located at least a trip the duration of three days away (one way). Catharine lived on the property after Jacob passed away, often operating the mills for customers.
Over the years since the Shupes lived on the original Homestead, property was sold off and subdivided, and today my family maintains twenty acres of the original nucleus of the Shupe Homestead.
I can proudly state that my family has looked to the future to ensure preservation of the history and ecological significance of the Shupe Homestead. In 2008, the Historic Shupe Homestead, which encompasses Beaver Creek was placed under a land conservation easement through the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, effectively conserving the property in its natural state, in perpetuity.
When I learned that Col. Vietzen had owned the original Shupe cabin, I became interested in Col. Vietzen’s Indian Ridge Museum. When I learned that Col. Vietzen had collected prehistoric artifacts, especially those locally obtained, I wanted to learn more about the prehistory of our area. I spent much time reading Col. Vietzen’s seventeen books, speaking with those who visited his Museum, and learning what I could about his work.
After Col. Vietzen passed away, several auctions were held to disperse the collection. When those auctions were held, I was unaware of the history being lost. I was later granted permission to go onto the Vietzen property after the sales occurred to save items from the property. I have been able to acquire several cases from Indian Ridge Museum. The door that led into the entrance of the Vietzen museum, is now preserved at the new Museum. Recollection of artifacts from the Indian Ridge Museum collections, into the New Indian Ridge Museum, continues today.
My New Indian Ridge Museum is a private endeavor and was created for the preservation of prehistoric and historic artifacts and is not open to the public. The main goals of the Museum are as follows (a.) to collect back into one museum, as many of the artifacts from the Indian Ridge Museum and the Col. Vietzen collection as possible; (b.) to preserve, collect, salvage, and interpret the early history of Amherst; and (c.) to collect and preserve any other historically or archaeologically significant artifacts that contribute to the knowledge of our broad patterns of local prehistory and history. The New Indian Ridge Museum is in memory of Col. Raymond C. Vietzen (1907-1995). Many of the artifacts in the new museum are from the original Vietzen museum.
One of Col. Vietzen’s seventeen books is titled The Saga of Glover’s Cave. Glover’s Cave is a naturally formed limestone cave in Christian County, Kentucky where Col. Vietzen performed excavations from the 1930s –1980s. In early July 2002 we received permission to document the Cave’s geology through photographs. The Cave’s geology was fascinating to witness. The limestone cave's entrance is thirty-one feet wide, opening to a large room that is seventy-two feet wide. Prehistoric people only lived about one hundred fifty-two feet back into the cave. The original cave floor is about six feet under the present floor. Prehistoric “garbage” or midden has made the cave floor higher. We were able to visit the area several more times and have learned quite a bit about the prehistory and geology of Kentucky through reading Col. Vietzen’s book and viewing old-time farm collections from the area.
At the September 2007 meeting of the Archaeological Society of Ohio - Sandusky Bay Chapter, Col. Ron Sauer stated that because I was preserving Col. Vietzen’s history, I should be a Kentucky Colonel as well. This is the highest honorary award bestowed by the Governor of Kentucky. Col. Vietzen acquired that status in 1957 as a result of archaeological work that he conducted in Kentucky and the subsequent book that he published on these studies. Col. Vietzen was also named an honorary citizen of Tennessee.
Col. Sauer had been a friend of Col. Vietzen since the early 1980s. Col. Sauer petitioned the governor of Kentucky, arguing that because I have been working to preserve the legacy of a Kentucky Colonel by the establishment of the New Indian Ridge Museum, I too should have that honorary status. On October 3, 2007, fifty years after Col. Vietzen acquired the status, I officially became a Kentucky Colonel.
Col. Matt Nahorn brief photo gallery
Mr. William Bird, now former director of the Lorain County Historical Society, presents Matt Nahorn with a plaque, officially recognizing the 1811 Historic Shupe Homestead as a Lorain County Historic Landmark.
Matt Nahorn with Mr. Michael Shaulis, then head of Lake Ridge Academy’s Upper School, in Shaulis’ office around the time they worked together to form the Lake Ridge Academy Archives.
Col. Matt Nahorn, in front of his Beaver Creek Watershed display, at the Watershed Open House, held at the Historic Vermilion-on-the-Lake Community Center. Here, Matt discussed the meaning of a watershed, the health of a watershed, and tips we can all take to make the environment around us healthier.
Matt Nahorn at Amherst’s Historic Old Spring arch, which he and his father worked to restore and re-illuminate. Matt continues to maintain the site today.
Matt Nahorn kayaking on the Vermilion River during an exploratory expedition, scouting the River.
Matt Nahorn and Vito Cammarata on a kayak scouting event, on the Vermilion River. Matt and Vito have worked together on various projects, including exploring and studying the River’s geology and its surrounding historic features.
Col. Nahorn stands beside a native American Chestnut tree that he grew from seed and transplanted to his Nahorn Arboretum at the 1811 Historic Shupe Homestead. The Arboretum boasts numerous Ohio native trees, some being rare and unusual varieties.