Collections Storage Upgrade
FAIN: PG-262235-19
Bridgton Historical Society (Bridgton, ME 04009-1261)
Edward Allen (Project Director: April 2018 to June 2024)
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.