Donate Artifacts

Preserving the past forms one of the central goals of the St. Clair County Historical Society. One way that we do this is through our museum collections.

Our collections have been built over the course of almost fifty years through the donations and generosity of our members and members of our communities.

Do you have items that relate to the history of St. Clair County that you would like preserved and used to educate your neighbors?

Consider donating your historically significant artifacts to the St. Clair County Historical Society.

Artifact Donation FAQ

The goal of the St. Clair County Historical Society’s museums, collections and library is to preserve significant artifacts of the past and use them to educate people about their history. Our FAQ for acquiring new items support this goal.

The answers to the following questions should help you in deciding whether your item fits our donation criteria. If not, contact us and we’d be happy to discuss it with you.

What sort of things do you accept?

Generally, the item must be related in some way to the history of St. Clair County or its people. Ideally, the item was made, found, used or owned by someone in St. Clair County. This is where documentation comes in handy, especially if the connection to the county is not obvious.

We can only accept items that help us to further our interests in teaching and preserving the past. We also must consider practical concerns such as adequate storage space for artifacts and taking care of historical objects in a safe and careful manner.

If you are not sure if your item fits in with this, contact us.

I have a large quantity of old things. Will you sort through them, accept what fits your criteria and return the rest?

We understand that trying to determine the importance of old items is difficult and time consuming. We’re here to help.

While we can help you identify if what you have is historically important and discuss a possible donation, understand that our ability to do so is often limited by staffing, hours and storage space.

Do you perform appraisals?

No.

What happens to my item once it is donated?

Your donation will be catalogued and stored in our collections, archives or library for use in displays, exhibits, research and publications.

You can rest assured that your item will be handled, stored and displayed with the utmost care for years to come. You can also take satisfaction in knowing that your donation helped teach people about St. Clair County’s fascinating past.

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