Donate Items

We accept any artifact that was made in Aitkin County, used in Aitkin County or could have been used in Aitkin County; e.g., paper items such as business flyers or histories, family information and histories, pictures, school information, organization histories, military records, township or city information, church and cemetery information.

We will keep any information about an item with the artifact. Personal information about a picture or artifact helps to establish the item with Aitkin County.

Any large artifact needs to be okayed by our Collection Committee. This would include furniture, equipment such as a tractor or a railroad speeder or a wood burning stove.

Items donated can be viewed once they are donated. However, we do need some advance notice to locate the item if it is in storage and bring it to the Depot.

Any item donated can receive a tax-deductible donation slip if requested. However, we cannot appraise the item's monetary value.

Our three buildings that hold artifacts have security systems to protect against theft and fire.

The cost of acquiring, processing, conserving, storing and providing access to collection items is large. All items from donors are reviewed by the Collection Committee before being accepted, which ensures that the items do not duplicate those already owned by the Society. And, while the Society collects many things, not all items are appropriate for its collections.

Gifts to the Society will be made without restrictions, and the owner must have clear and legal title to that artifact, and that title must be transferred to ACHS.

What happens to my donated item?

    What happens when an item or group of items is donated?

  1. Each item is written into the donation log book.
  2. The Collection Committee, which meets six times a year to discuss donations, determines if we want to keep an item or return it.
  3. Each kept item is given an accession number; e.g., "11.7.3," where "11" stands for the year donated 2011, "7" stands for the seventh donation given in 2011 and "3" stands for the third item in a group of donations. This number is attached to each donated item. Each item is looked at, measure and quality determined.
    • If an item goes with a current display it will be added to that display.
    • Otherwise, it is stored in an acid free box to preserve it until an appropriate display goes up that the item could go in.
  4. Items are stored in one of our four buildings. Three of our buildings are temperature and humidity controlled to protect the artifacts - two display buildings and a storage building. Item cards are made out for every item in a donation to show its location; e.g., "3-16-4-3" (building 3, section 16, shelf 4, box 3).
  5. Donor cards also made out; a donor card lists all items given by a specific person.
  6. Each item is also listed in our computer.
  7. A thank-you letter is mailed to the donor.

Museum Holdings

The museum holdings include costumes and textiles, decorative arts, Native American artifacts and archaeological material, political memorabilia, military acts, and domestic artifacts reflecting upon life in Aitkin County. The diverse collection serves as the foundation for the Aitkin County Historical Society exhibition program.

Library Holdings

Library holdings include, but are not limited to, books, newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets, maps, diaries, census data, brochures and ephemera in all formats/media including microfilms and video tapes.

Special Collections

Special Collections may also include manuscripts, archives, photographic materials, prints, broadsides, scrapbooks, maps, architectural and engineering drawings, and paper ephemera relating to the history of Aitkin County and its people. Ideally, artifacts should be stable and in good condition, and ACHS must be able to provide adequate care for it as determined by established professional standards.