Exhibits
Permanent Exhibit
History at Home: The Story of the Betts Family, the West End, and Cincinnati, explains how the once-country home of the Betts family is now nestled among other 19th and 20th century dwellings in the Betts Longworth Historic District. Follow the 200 year history of the family, the growth of Cincinnati and the events that shaped the West End. History at Home was made possible through a generous anonymous donation.
Sampler Exhibit
The Sampler Exhibit showcases a collection of hand-stitched needlework created by a young girl in 1821 (when she was 7 years old) and 1824 (when she was 10 years old). These embroidered pieces, known as samplers, were used to practice and display skills in sewing, lettering, and decorative design.
Each sampler reflects the maker’s patience, craftsmanship, and education, offering a unique glimpse into daily life, family traditions, and the role of girls and women in early American history.
The exhibit features a variety of styles and motifs, including alphabets, borders, floral patterns, and personal inscriptions. Together, these pieces help preserve the stories of the girls who created them and the world they lived in.
Traveling Exhibits
The Betts House makes its past exhibits available for loan to museums, historic sites, libraries, community centers, cultural centers, and other venues.
- Bricks, Barrel Vaults & Beer: The Architectural Legacy of Cincinnati Breweries
- The Big Shake: How the 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes Rocked the Ohio River Valley (Available for loan)
- From Tenements to Townhouses: Multi-Family Housing in Cincinnati (Available for loan)
- Great Cincinnati Families at Home (Available for loan)
- More Great Cincinnati Families at Home (Available for loan)
- Endangered Cincinnati: Can These Buildings Be Saved (Available for loan)
- Lost Cincinnati: Why Buildings Die (Available for loan)
- Cincinnati’s Decorative Iron Age (Available for loan)
Other Past Exhibits
Build It!* May 19- Aug. 22, 2015
Bricks, Barrel Vaults & Beer: The Architectural Legacy of Cincinnati Breweries+*: Back for Another Round! January 10- May 7, 2015
Build It!* April 12-August 23, 2014
Bricks, Barrel Vaults & Beer: The Architectural Legacy of Cincinnati Breweries+*, Oct. 12 – March 27, 2014
ArchiteXploration* August 24- October 3, 2013
Build It!*, April 13 – July 27, 2013
Forward Into The Past*, January 12 – February 28, 2013
Urban Landscapes*, October 13 – November 29, 2012
Green Building Signage Project*, September 29 – October 9, 2012
Soul of the City*, August 11 – September 22, 2012
Cincinnati Vibrant Visions*, June 9 – July 14, 2012
The Big Shake: How the 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes Rocked the Ohio River Valley+, September 23, 2011 – May 31, 2012
Cincinnati Modernism*, August 13 – September 15, 2011
Style & Whimsy – An exhibit of student work from St. Ursula Academy*, July 8 – August 4, 2011
The Art of Alan Grizzell: Over the Rhine*, May 7 – June 30, 2011
Vanishing Cincinnati*, February 12 – April 23, 2011
Picturing a Healthy Girl*, January 29 – February 10, 2011
Recent Paintings by Marcia Alscher*, November 27, 2010 – January 6, 2011
From Queen City to Porkopolis: Prints of Cincinnati, 1860 – 1890*, October 2 – November 18, 2010
From Tenements to Townhouses: Multi-Family Housing in Cincinnati+, April 17 – September 30, 2010
HOME WORK: An Exhibit of New Work by VisuaLingual*, February 20 – April 8, 2010
Exploring Cincinnati*, October 3 – November 19, 2009
More Great Cincinnati Families at Home+, April 25 through September 30, 2009
Cincinnati: A Glimpse from the Past*, January 6 – March 31, 2009
Great Cincinnati Families at Home+, May 16 through October 31, 2008
Endangered Cincinnati+, 2006
Lost Cincinnati+, 2005
The Changing Cultural Landscape of the West End+, 2004
George Washington: Architect*, 2003
Windows of Change+, 2000
The Comforts of Home? Fireplaces in the 19th Century House+, 1999
Cincinnati’s Decorative Iron age: Defining Space+, 1998
A Permanent Bond: Bricks in Cincinnati before 1840+, 1997
Urban Archaeology at Betts-Longworth+, 1996
+ created by the Betts House * hosted by the Betts House
