Ernest Warther Museum & Gardens

Ernest Warther Museum & Gardens www.thewarthermuseum.com Turn of the century Dover, Ohio was like most small towns of the day. Warther Museum is like no other museum in the world.
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Residents worked hard, believed in progress, took pride in their community and sat down together to enjoy the evening meal. Such was the case for one of Dover’s most famous residents, Ernest “Mooney” Warther. Born in 1885 to Swiss immigrants, Mooney, as he was known to all, would leave a mark in the community that is still visible to this day. Mooney found his way out of the steel mills where he w

orked and into his workshop where he began making knives in order to make carvings of ebony, ivory, and walnut, a hobby that would later make him a recognizable figure across the nation. With only a second grade education, Mooney would become a master carver that can only be explained through his genius. Noted professors from Case Western Reserve explained the degree of skill in the creation of the pliers tree, one of Mooney’s more unique carvings, would require an advanced degree in mathematics. His talent lives on in members of his family and his story is told in a family-friendly museum that celebrates the life of this remarkable man. Situated on eight acres in the tree-lined residential neighborhood where Mooney once lived, the Swiss chalet-styled Warther Museum gives visitors a glimpse into the life of Mooney, his wife Frieda and their family. Still operated by the third and fourth generation of the Warther family, Warther Museum features Mooney’s home, restored to appear as it would when he and Frieda started their life together. Mooney’s original workshop, built in 1912, features his tools, an extensive collection of Native American arrowheads and the fireplace where he would forge the steel he used in the kitchen knives. In the museum are the priceless collection of 64 ebony, ivory, and walnut trains carved by Mooney at different stages of his life. Each carving is painstakingly accurate with moving parts that are remarkably to scale. The truly unique button house is home to Frieda Warther’s collection of more than 73,000 buttons displayed on the walls and ceiling of the quaint structure located just outside the original Warther home on the edge of the garden. Throughout every season of each year, the Swiss styled garden is meticulously maintained. It remains a dear reminder to the Warther family of their proud Swiss heritage.

09/06/2026

The Button House! One of the only places you'll ever be fully surrounded by this many historic and antique buttons!

Buttons are such a small thing but they make up a huge part of the Warther story. Frieda started her button collection s...
09/05/2026

Buttons are such a small thing but they make up a huge part of the Warther story. Frieda started her button collection shortly after coming to the United States from Switzerland when she was 6 years old. Her collection grew over her lifetime. Her button museum today boasts well over 73,000 historic and antique buttons on display and thousands more in the archives. Not only did she display these buttons, but she put them into thoughtful designs, patterns, or tributes to the buttons themselves. This is one of the largest collections of historic and antique buttons in the world, and it is right here at the Ernest Warther Museum in Dover, Ohio. Even if buttons aren’t your thing, it’s a pretty impressive collection that you can’t miss!

09/04/2026

The Grape Arbor! Frieda and Mooney constructed the arbor in 1917 and planted vines that year! We still have it today and it provides one of the coolest spots in the garden!

In case you missed one of our updates for this year, we celebrated our 90th year of being a museum by installing new con...
09/03/2026

In case you missed one of our updates for this year, we celebrated our 90th year of being a museum by installing new content in one of our largest exhibit rooms. The History of Steam Exhibit Room showcases 40 years of carving by Ernest “Mooney” Warther that demonstrates the Evolution of the Steam Engine, starting in early B.C. times up through the early 1940’s with one of the last of the steamers created, the Union Pacific Big Boy. The exhibit now features photographs, journal entries, and written steam history. We are always adding more information and sharing artifacts as much as we can to provide a great reason for a return visit! -Especially if you were here to ride “The Swing” or had Mooney cut you a pair of pliers on a field trip and you haven’t been back since!

09/02/2026

This work of art is hand-sculpted out of wood?! Oh, and it is mechanized as well?? The Pennsylvania, carved in 1920 by Ernest "Mooney" Warther, is a beautiful piece, hand-carved out of walnut wood, trimmed with Mother of Pearl, and mechanized as well. In fact, all of Warther's carvings are mechanized. This one also features a hidden compartment in the tender that the artist used as a bit of a time-capsule!

Our tour times remain at 9:30am, 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm, and 3:30pm throughout the month of September. We are open our norma...
08/31/2026

Our tour times remain at 9:30am, 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm, and 3:30pm throughout the month of September. We are open our normal operating hours on Labor Day from 9am to 5pm.

08/30/2026

Hand-carved replica of the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company in Dover, Ohio by Ernest "Mooney" Warther. He designed the mechanization and carved this piece in 9 months time.

08/29/2026

The Plier Tree! 31,000 cuts in 64 days to create a tree of 511 pairs of pliers from a single block of wood!

On this date, August 28, in 1913 Ernest Warther finished what he called “The Plier Tree.” As a young boy, Warther discov...
08/28/2026

On this date, August 28, in 1913 Ernest Warther finished what he called “The Plier Tree.” As a young boy, Warther discovered how to cut a single pair of pliers from a block of wood. But he mastered that and wanted to keep adding more pliers into one block. At age 27, he spent 64 days creating this tree of pliers. After placing 31,000 cuts in a single block of wood, he unfolded 511 pairs of pliers. All these pliers are connected and will fold back into the single block of wood. He didn’t cut anything out of the block, and he didn’t produce any shavings. For him, he could see this in his mind before he created it. To others, even mathematicians and engineers, they can’t see how he would have been able to create it. “The Plier Tree” is one of the most interesting pieces within the museum.

08/26/2026

Who doesn't love this gorgeous plant?! Amaranthus! Also known as "Love Lies Bleeding" and is one of Frieda's that has been on the property, seeding off for over 100 years. 🌸

Address

331 Karl Avenue
Dover, OH
44622

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

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