Rankin Circular Barn - 1908

The Jay County Historical Society welcomes you! We are proud of our work collecting, preserving, and displaying the rich heritage of Jay County, Indiana, the only “Jay” County in the United States. Come see the 11,000 square foot Jay County Historical Museum. Admission is free, and the museum is handicapped accessible. The museum is staffed by dedicated volunteers who would be happy to share Jay County’s history with you. It offers visitors a unique glimpse of bygone times here in east central Indiana.

Sunday museum open houses occur frequently throughout the year. In the early fall, our Jay County Heritage Festival has history-related fun and entertainment for all ages on the grounds of the museum, and admission is free. End-of-year holiday time brings special indoor activities at the museum, as well.

The Jay County Historical Society is supported mostly through membership dues and donations. Please consider joining the Society. Members receive the Jay County Journal, our monthly newsletter with articles about both current events and historical topics in addition to a mystery picture. We also sponsor informative and interesting monthly program meetings at the museum. An annual dinner meeting for members is held in November with a special program and election of the board of directors.

Thanks to the Portland Foundation for our recent grant: 

Thank you to all of the former Genealogy Society members who are continuing their membership in the combined organization.  Thanks also for directing dues payments and questions about membership to the museum office at: 903 East Main Street,  Portland, IN,  47371.  Phone: 260-726-7168,  fax: 260-726-7178, or email us at:  research@jaycountyhistory.org.

Until we are able to expand the museum to accomodate the genealogical records, genealogy research will continue to be done by volunteers at the office at 109 South Commerce Street, Portland, IN 47371.  The hours are : 10AM to 4PM, Thursday and Friday.  Any genealogy questions should be directed to them at 260-726-4323 or research@jaycountyhistory.org.

Research will be limited to materials contained within the Genealogy Office.   

Charges for genealogical research are as follows:

1.  JCHS members will be allowed two queries per year, not to exceed one hour’s total research time  for the two, at no charge.  Copying and postage will be additional.

2.  Queries for non-members will be done at a charge of $10 per hour, with a minimum charge of $10.

3.  There will be a charge of 25 cents per page for copied material and $1.00 per page for scanned material, plus postage for shipping for all queries.

4.   Persons who visit the genealogy office and search the material for their own personal use, with assistance, will be charged only copying fees.

We appreciate your patience while we work out the “bugs” in our combined organizations and look forward to the time when both groups can be permanently  housed in one location.  Watch for opportunities in the coming months to help us build the necessary space to accomodate all our assets.

Get Started Tracing Your Family History With The Pedigree Chart Below.

If you would like to give genealogy a try, here is a link to a printable pedigree chart.

pedigree_chart