Donating Artifacts
The Wayne County Historical Museum (WCHM ) welcomes gifts of artifacts, books, historical documents, photographs, audiovisual materials, and other items pertaining to the history of Wayne County. The museum currently houses approximately one million artifacts and archival materials dating from prehistory to present day with an extensive collection of artifacts and materials from the last 200 years.
When submitting your donation for evaluation and possible inclusion in our collection, prospective donors are asked to email our collections manager Kerry George at Collections@wchmuseum.org and submit information to the museum providing background information about the history of the object(s) and photographs of the artifact(s) for consideration. You may also stop by the museum, or we can email you a Temporary Deposit Form to submit with the object(s) for consideration.
After the Temporary Deposit Form is submitted by the donor, the Collections Committee will meet to determine whether the items should be acquired and to which Wayne County Historical Museum collection the objects should be transferred (Permanent/Archives or Education). The donor will be notified of the committee’s decision.
Our Collections Committee meets the second Tuesday of each month.
Acquisition Guidelines:
- Relevance to WCHM Mission/Scope of Collections and focus on historical, cultural, or natural history of Wayne County
- Research value: detailed provenance or story of objects and intended use
- Physical condition of objects and preservation/conservation needs
- Adequate storage to properly house items long-term
- Objects must be the legal property of the donor
- We are currently seeking objects from 1950 to present day.
- We are currently seeking artifacts that help tell the stories of marginalized groups in Wayne County.
Please contact Collections Manager Kerry George in advance to discuss your donation and arrange for a delivery time for your materials at:
765-962-5756 or Collections@wchmuseum.org.