Collections Storage Upgrade

FAIN: PG-262235-19

Bridgton Historical Society (Bridgton, ME 04009-1261)
Edward Allen (Project Director: April 2018 to present)

The purchase of shelving and preservation supplies to store a diverse collection of historical objects, furniture, textiles, photographs, town and business records, and other items related to the history of Bridgton.  Founded originally as an agricultural community in the 1760s, Bridgton later became a transportation center and today serves as a popular tourist destination in southern Maine.  Highlights of the collection include 220 glass plate negatives, 100 tools and household items from a local farmhouse inhabited by the same family for more than two centuries, and firearms and edged weapons dating to the Civil War era or earlier.

Bridgton Historical Society proposes to purchase and install storage racks and re-house collections in the basement storage area, following recommendations by conservator Ronald Harvey, who conducted a NEH grant-funded conservation assessment in 2017. The collections that this project will benefit include business and municipal records, glass plate negatives, household artifacts, agricultural and manufacturing tools and equipment, textiles, military artifacts, and other items used or produced in Bridgton or by Bridgton residents. The collections are used by researchers and for exhibitions, programs, and publications; many are available on-line. The project will replace an old plywood rack, purchase a mix of fixed and rolling open metal racks, and re-house materials in appropriate, acid-free archival storage containers. In addition to improving storage conditions, this project will more than double the amount of storage shelving in this space and make the collections more accessible.