The John and Annie Glenn Museum in New Concord. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

By Ken Drenten

John Glenn was an American hero – an original Mercury 7 astronaut who went into space not once but twice, was a U.S. Senator, presidential candidate and U.S. Marine aviator who was a fighter pilot in three wars.

He was the oldest NASA astronaut ever to go into space at the age of 77 when he flew in the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998.

Glenn has an international airport in Columbus and a NASA research center in Cleveland named after him and was featured prominently in the book and film “The Right Stuff.”

If you want to get to know this humble but great American better, you can tour the John and Annie Glenn Museum in New Concord, the home where he and his sweetheart both grew up.

The blue, two-story house is furnished and decorated in periods relating to the 1930s to the early 1960s. John’s bedroom is furnished as it was when he lived there as a teenager, and costumed guides provide tours through the house.

Glenn’s accomplishments may be outshined by the lifelong love story of John and Annie, who first met when they were just toddlers. They dated in high school, then married on April 6, 1943.

Annie’s triumph over a speech disability is every bit as inspirational as her husband’s exploits as an astronaut and public servant. Upon his death in 2016, John and Annie had been married 73 years. Annie passed away in 2020 at the age of 100.

Another nearby museum of interest is the National Road/Zane Grey Museum in Norwich. The museum tells the story of the building of the National Road in Ohio in the 1830s and how various modes of transportation changed the road and those who lived and worked near it.

The museum also features author Zane Grey, who wrote dozens of Western novels, such as “Riders of the Purple Sage,” many of which were turned into Hollywood movies in the 1930s, ‘40s and ’50s. The museum also has an extensive collection of art pottery made in the Muskingum County area by such famed makers as Roseville, Weller and McCoy.

The John and Annie Glenn Museum is located at 72 W. Main St., New Concord; the National Road/Zane Grey Museum is at 8850 E. Pike (US 40), Norwich. Phone number for more information about both museums is (740) 826-3305.

Read more in Ohio historical museums in Dusty Tires.

Ken Drenten is creator and editor of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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