Conservation Condition Survey of RCHS's Collection of Horse-Drawn Vehicles

FAIN: PG-252740-17

Ramsey County Historical Society, Inc. (St. Paul, MN 55102-1431)
Mollie Spillman (Project Director: April 2016 to June 2019)

The preservation of an important collection of eleven horse-drawn vehicles by hiring a conservation consultant to conduct an object-by-object condition survey, and by development of an environmental monitoring program in each of three storage facilities. Founded in 1949, the Ramsey County Historical Society operates two major sites: Gibbs Farm, which is a historic site, and a research center and administrative offices in nearby Saint Paul. RCHS also maintains two off-site storage buildings. In addition to the horse-drawn vehicles that are the focus of this application, RCHS maintains a collection of nearly 15,000 historic objects and over 55,000 library and archival objects related to the history of Minnesota’s capital county.

Ramsey County Historical Society (RCHS) requests a grant of $6,000.00 to fund a conservation condition survey of the Society’s collection of eleven horse-drawn vehicles and the implementation of environmental monitoring within their storage environments. As detailed in the Preservation Assessment Survey by the Midwest Art Conservation Center in 2014, these horse-drawn vehicles are a high-priority group within the RCHS collection as many of the vehicles belonged to the prominent Saint Paul family of James J. Hill. This survey will conduct an object-by-object analysis to determine each vehicles current condition. The final report will detail strategies for the next steps necessary to preserve and conserve this special collection that will then be incorporated into RCHS’s strategic and facilities planning to develop long-term collection plans for artifact conservation, improvement of storage facilities, and increasing accessibility by making the horse-drawn vehicle collection available to