Paul R. Stewart Museum Collection Preservation

FAIN: PG-263440-19

Waynesburg University (Waynesburg, PA 15370-1258)
Courtney Dennis (Project Director: April 2018 to March 2020)
Rea Andrew Redd (Project Director: March 2020 to August 2023)

The purchase of preservation storage supplies for the college’s archives, comprising 300 linear feet of documents, photographs, campus newspapers, and other materials.  Sources date back to the 1850s and chronicle the school’s history as an early enrollee of African American and Native American students and one of the nation’s first higher education institutions to grant full degrees to women.  Highlights include personal papers of A. B. Miller, who served as president of the college from 1859 to 1899, and issues of the Cumberland Presbyterian, a periodical published by Waynesburg’s parent church, dating from 1869 to 1885.

The Paul R. Stewart Museum (PRSM) at Waynesburg University has a diverse collection that represents the humanities, arts, and sciences. The university was founded by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1849, and its significant tradition of educational and social progressiveness is such that two of its campus buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. This project will focus on preserving the archival materials in the collection that pertain to the university’s institutional history. Grant funds would support replacing archival-grade containers and materials in this collection that are losing efficacy and purchasing archival-grade containers and materials for the items in this collection that are not currently housed using accepted archival practices or are not housed at all. The PRSM receives 60 requests annually from researchers wishing to utilize these materials. By preserving them, the PRSM can continue to share them with the public and the campus community.