We saw horrifying steel darts, tossed from biplanes onto World War I soldiers. We saw a huge model railroad layout. We visited Tim Russert’s office from “Meet the Press,” and we saw President Fillmore’s carriage.

A week or two back we visited the Buffalo History Museum… formerly the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, and before that the New York State Building at the 1901 world’s fair.

This is a lovely turn-of-the-century “temple” perched overlooking the lake in Delaware Park, just a little down from the Buffalo Zoo. While the rest of the fair was torn down at the end of the season, they built this place to last, and to be a major museum. Mission accomplished.

From Bath to Buffalo might seem a long trip to see a local history museum. But Buffalo and Erie County are big enough that their “local” history is also state and national history. So the gallery dedicated to the centennial of the Great War is not a ho-hum collection of faded uniforms and I-was-there medals, but a large space that comes to grip with the experience of the war… “over there” and “over here”… using Buffalo and Erie County as the starting point.

Glenn Curtiss was a major wartime employer in Buffalo, and photos tell the story of his airplane factories. Other items (canteens, mess kits, knapsacks, trench periscopes) were either MADE in Buffalo/Erie, or USED by somebody from Buffalo/Erie County.

Nurses’ uniforms make an opportunity to remind us that real young Buffalo/Erie men died, or suffered horrendous agony. Although the exhibit captures the patriotic enthusiasm, it doesn’t “whitewash” the war.

A large space on the main floor exhibits wartime posters in glorious garish colors, appealing to patriotism and enemy atrocities as reasons to join up or otherwise support the war effort. This exhibit correctly points out propaganda, although it is also true that atrocities were a long-established part of the German war plan, and it was Kaiser Wilhelm who first described his soldiers as Huns.

Religious banners and artifacts, and materials written in non-English languages, reveal Buffalo’s rich ethnic and religious history. This is not my first trip to the museum, and I’ve always been impressed and pleased that the museum does not soft-pedal racism, prejudice, and segregation. Most local history museums just nervously ignore the topics, but Buffalo History Museum is upfront about them.

Tim Russert, long-term moderator of “Meet the Press,” was a proud citizen of Buffalo, and after his premature death his office was moved to the museum, where old friends and TV fans alike can enjoy his overflowing space. This gallery also covers Mr. Russert’s life, including his work on Daniel Moynihan’s staff and his efforts recruiting federal help in the 1977 blizzard.

Where else in the world are you going to find a life-size cutout of Millard Fillmore? The former president was also the first president of the Buffalo Historical Society. His carriage, as we mentioned, is on exhibit in the street of shops, commemorating actual stores from Buffalo’s past.

A vast model railroad layout highlights the transportation history of the area, and is sprinkled with tiny copies of structures from the region. We didn’t get to see the model trains in operation, but I’ve seen them in the past, and it’s terrific.

We left in a downpour, but the following day was clear and blue and pleasant, so we came back to stroll the Japanese garden, which lies below the museum along the shore of the lake. It’s a lovely place, fitting well into its unforgiving space.

The museum’s a great place, though there were some drawbacks. My wife was using a walker following an injury, and the handicap entrance is an obscure door in a space where you can’t park. You ring to be buzzed in, then enter behind and above the model trains, work your way down a looooong ramp to the lower level, make your way to the other end of the building, and ride the elevator up to the main floor for admissions. Near admissions is the only handicap-accessible rest room, but you wouldn’t know it from the visitor’s map.

Some of the labels or signage could be placed higher and closer… and/or could be written larger… for the ease of the visitor. Also, some of the labels and exhibits are starting to look tired… they could use a little attention.

On a VERY hot day, there was no air conditioning to be noticed… whether it’s not there, or wasn’t working, or just couldn’t keep up, is more than I can say. It didn’t stop us from enjoying the museum, and we joked that we were experiencing the place as the original visitors would have. That summer of 1901 was murderously hot, which was part of the reason that the Pan-American Exposition never met its attendance expectations, and wound up going broke. (President McKinley being killed at the fair, just as temperatures moderated in September, didn’t help either.) That connection also led us to play a little what-if game. Did Glenn Curtiss visit this building, on his trip to the fair? Did Theodore Roosevelt?

None of the drawbacks we mentioned stopped us from enjoying ourselves, and being happily impressed! We’re glad we made the journey!