The Study

Welcome to the home of Mary Jane Harter Coleman Hayner. We will begin our tour today in the Study. A portrait of Mrs. Hayner hangs prominently above the fireplace in this room. Born in 1855, Mary Jane was the only one of Samuel and Olivia Harter's five children to survive to adulthood. Her father, a prominent business man and civic leader became wealthy through various investments including land and his brother's medicine company, the Dr. Harter Medicine Company. Mary Jane married Horace Colman Jr in 1874 and they had four children. Three years after this marriage ended in divorce, she married William M. Hayner. They had a daughter, Mary Isabel in 1897. In time William Hayner became the head of the Dr. Harter Medicine and the Hayner Distillery. Mrs. Hayner was a widow when she built this home in 1914. She lived here until her death in 1942. She loved to travel and did much of her shopping on frequent trips to Europe where she was influenced in her choice of architecture for this building. The home has been described as Norman Romanesque Revival with a classical interior. Mrs. Hayner also had a love of entertaining. On special occasions she would fill her house with guests for whom she provided music on both the first floor and in the Ballroom with lavish decorations throughout the house. and delicious refreshments. In her will Mrs. Hayner left her home to the Board of Education with the intent that her home be used as a library, museum or for educational or cultural purposes. For 33 years from 1942 to 1976 the mansion housed the Troy-Miami County Public Library. After the library moved in 1976 citizens of Troy approved a half mil. levy to use the building as a community cultural center. The Friends of Hayner, a membership organization was established to serve as a repository for gift donations and as a fund raiser for special projects. Today thousands of people come annually to the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center to enjoy art exhibits, concerts, recitals, receptions, classes of all kinds from pottery to dancing, club meetings, weddings, antique seminars, and guest speakers. As you walk through the house note the mold and plaster ceilings on the first floor rooms and the leaded glass windows. You will discover seven different patterns of leaded glass throughout the home. Each of the large rooms has it's own pattern. The Asian carpets throughout the house have either been donated to the Hayner or purchased by the House Committee through the Friends of Hayner. The architecture of the home is considered Norman Romanesque. Leonard B. Willeke, a noted architect of his day, designed the house. The glass doors with low door handles are French. The wall sconces, chandeliers, urns with pedestal, and carved wood settee are all original to the house. The couch and chairs were made by the Romweber Company in Indiana and donated to the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center by Mr. and Mrs. Byron Shepard in memory of their son. The painting of the little girl with the grapes is entitled, "Childhood's Happy Days" and was painted by Francois-Alfred Delobbe. Please take a moment and view the pictures hanging on the wall just outside the door to the great hall. They were taken shortly after Mrs. Hayner's death in 1942 and depict the house as it was when Mrs. Hayner lived there.