Granville Historical Society hires retired educator Karen Bailey as inaugural director

The first-ever director of the Granville Historical Society brings strong backgrounds in education and the arts as well as history to the organization.

Karen Bailey, a retired educator, began her part-time position with the Society in early October, said Heidi Drake, president of the Society’s Board of Managers.

"We are thrilled to welcome Karen to the Granville Historical Society and know that her passion and enthusiasm will be a tremendous source of inspiration to all who meet her," Drake said. "She is a great addition to our organization and the Granville Community."

Although she currently lives in Hebron, where she is renovating a 19th-century home, Bailey lived in Granville for two years when she first arrived to be close to her daughter and grandchildren. She served on the Village Planning Commission during that time, meeting people and learning about Granville’s history, she said.

"Growing up in the planned town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where education was a top priority, I thought all towns were planned to support beautiful, healthy communities where new people were welcome and the legacy and history was kept alive and honored," she said. "I learned, of course, that this was not the case, so moving to Granville four years ago was like coming home. I am very excited to be the first director of the Granville Historical Society as I it allows me to put down roots, meet people and contribute to this thriving community."

"If there is one thing I want people to know about me, it is my profound gratitude to be here," she added. "Granville is a special place and I am looking forward to many magical memories."

Karen’s work experience has been primarily in education and the arts, with an emphasis on administration.

"My education includes art, architecture, education, and philosophy," she said. "While living in Tennessee, my husband and I purchased an abandoned WPA-built school building, renovated it, lived in it and started a school there as well. It was at that point that I started researching historic preservation and became passionate about old buildings and the history of where I lived and worked."

That trend continued in Colorado, where she saved another historic school building that was eventually converted into condominiums.

She is now working on rescuing the Thomas Cully House in Hebron, built in 1830.

"When this historic house came on the market in Hebron, I bought it because it reminded me of my school building in Tennessee — neglected and in need of work, but with great character,” she said. “I joined the Hebron Historic Society and have been researching getting it on the National Register of Historic Places. I currently rent out the first floor, live and work as an artist upstairs, and take daily walks on the Ohio Canal Trail that starts right behind my house."

The Historical Society position was attractive to her, because, "It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect to the community here in Granville, which I fell in love with when I moved here. There’s such a rich history."

"I really want to hit the ground running," she added. "I want to be sensitive to the culture. But I don’t want to be too sleepy. I want to make sure my energy is infused. I was in parks and recreation for heritage tourism and know how that can contribute to a community. But Granville does it almost by nature."

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville Historical Society hires retired educator as first director