Invisible Ground signage in front of Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville in August 2025. (Photo provided by Invisible Ground)

As part of a larger project across southeast Ohio, the Campus Martius Museum and the Ohio Company Land Office will be reimagined this fall using an augmented reality program.

Visitors will scan QR codes stationed near a historic landmark and use their phone camera to view the structures and historic buildings as they were in their original conditions in the past.

Once the QR code is scanned, visitors will be directed to a video and podcast that describes the history of the landmark. The information is created and designed by Brian Koscho, the director and producer of Invisible Ground.

Koscho said the project was inspired by his own passion and excitement about learning something new, especially when it comes to the rich history of southeast Ohio.

“At Campus Martius, they have this wonderful museum here, but in some places, the site might not even be there anymore,” he said. “So now you can see it and hear about it and learn about it and connect it to other places.”

Director and producer Brian Koscho shows people how to use the Invisible Ground app while on a tour in Athens in August 2024. (Photo provided by Scotty Hall)

He said the program will allow people to view a historic landmark in its original condition through their phone screen by holding it near the site. There are buildings in the city of Athens that were replaced by other businesses over the years.

With the Invisible Ground QR code, people can use their phones to view the original structure through their screen.

Koscho started the project in Athens with multiple panels around the county for anyone to access.

“As someone interested in history, Marietta is one of those places that I’ve loved for a very long time,” he said. “It just makes so much sense; it’s an expansion and we want to keep doing them in more places around Appalachia Ohio … it’s a natural expansion.”

According to Northwest Territory Museum Society Executive Director Erin Augenstein, the Ohio Company Land Office is one of the oldest buildings in the state, with its history dating back to 1787. There will be a QR code panel stationed near the building for guests to interact with.

Invisible Ground signage of the Shawnee Historic District in August 2025. (Photo provided by Invisible Ground)

Koscho said the site panels will be installed for use by the beginning of fall.

“Working with someone like Erin (Augenstein) and working with the staff here is really easy because they have a passion for this work and they understand how something like this can help them tell that story,” said Koscho.

He said it’s always easy to work with historians who are passionate about what they do.

“There’s a lot of incredible stories here,” he said.

There are 17 immersive historic markers in southeast Ohio, with the first placed in the spring of 2022.

A screenshot of the Invisible Ground app which shows the people on the steps of Mount Zion Baptist Church on North Congress Street in Athens. The historic overlay depicts 1961, and the screenshot was taken June 2025. (Photo provided by Invisible Ground)

To learn more about Koscho’s project and tune in to the podcast, go to findinvisibleground.com

“There are about 10,000 people who visit the Campus Martius Museum every year from every county in Ohio and every state in the nation and at least a dozen foreign countries,” said Augenstein. “This is going to give folks an opportunity, if they’re in town visiting, a little more to look at and see and learn about our town.”

As the site manager for Campus Martius, Augenstein said she saw Athens had incorporated the augmented reality program throughout the city and she knew Marietta needed it, too.

She contacted Koscho about expanding the Invisible Ground project to Marietta.

“We’ve been talking for about a year or two on how to best approach this project,” she said.

Augenstein said the project would create opportunities for tours and school-related partnerships.

“There’s a lot of different ways for people to continue to engage,” she said.

The project’s expansion to Washington County was made possible through the Ohio History Fund with $15,300, which was received by the museum March 30.

The check was presented by Ohio History Connection Program Manager Andy Verhoff, a previous site manager at Campus Martius.

“This program is funded largely through donations,” said Verhoff. “In Ohio, people can donate a portion of the Ohio income tax refund.”

Verhoff said Ohio taxpayers donated $194,657, which was the second highest amount since the program started in 2012. There were 15 grants awarded this year with a total of 164 grants in the program’s history, totaling more than $1.8 million.

“We have a review panel that makes recommendations on which grants are funded,” he said. “Our review panel really reacted to this.”

Verhoff said Augenstein’s application was concise and the review panel was familiar with the Invisible Ground project.

“The key is to create different opportunities for people to engage however they choose to do,” he said.

To donate to the Ohio History Fund, Verhoff said people can purchase an Ohio History Connection license plate for an extra $30, with $20 going to the fund.

He said there are other funding sources, but donating through the state tax refund and purchasing license plates are the largest sources of funding.

For more information about Campus Martius, go to mariettamuseums.org