Century-old popcorn wagon takes center stage at new Columbus Historical Society

The location is close to the former museum, which had been located at 116 W. James St. for four years before the museum lost its lease. The museum started in a room in the Columbus Public Library.

A grand opening is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, with permanent hours being announced later, historical society member Dale Hughes said.

The centerpiece of the museum is the George Hasey Popcorn Wagon, Hughes said.

George A. Hasey was born in 1892 and died in 1980. He wore many hats in Columbus, but is most remembered for the one he wore while behind the popcorn wagon that sat in downtown Columbus in the 1900s.

Hasey acquired the 1915 Dunbar Company of Chicago wagon from Bruno Lazzeroni of Lake Geneva in 1918 for $800 and ran the business for several years. His daughter Kathryn died in a fire in the wagon in 1946, and in the 1950s, the wagon was sold to someone outside the area. It was brought back around 2011, however, after it was confirmed to be Hasey’s. It returned to Columbus after being restored in 2015 and will now be a permanent part of the museum.

“It was an institution on the four corners,” Hughes said. “That is what it is called, the four corners (in downtown Columbus).”

Other museum displays include items used to advertise Columbus businesses, historical society member Bonnie Adam said.

A Columbus High School display includes a piece of Columbus High School history Columbus graduates can sign and date, Hughes said, as well as yearbooks dating back to 1920s.

Historic clothing is also on display along with memorabilia from when Public Enemies was shot in town, Adam said. There is also furniture to show how people lived in the past.

The museum’s entrance includes photos of Columbus in its early days that Walcott Studio helped to expand and showcase the places.

“The notion is when people come to the museum, they gain information about the general layout of the city,” Hughes said.