Ames Historical Collection

Ames Historical Collection

The Ames Historical Collection represents the main repository of the Society's collecting efforts.  Historical materials are presently stored in approximately 1200 square feet of rented space at three different locations: Suite 101 at 416 Douglas in Ames, which serves as a temporary museum, and two other storage facilities.  Historical materials in our collection are grouped for convenience into these categories: archives, artifacts, books, maps, photographs, audiovisuals, and newspapers.

ARCHIVES

Archival materials include such forms as correspondence, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, maps, and oral history recordings.  The Collection's strength lies in its archival records of organizations and residents.

ARTIFACTS

Artifacts (objects made or used by humans) range from prehistoric lithics to antiques and contemporary articles.  The Collection includes examples of projectile points found in the Skunk River, agricultural tools, items from former businesses, clothing and military uniforms, and domestic articles from various periods.

BOOKS

Several hundred vintage school textbooks constitute the core of the general book collection. Most of the imprints range from the 1850s to the 1950s, and represent readers and spellers, geography, arithmetic, history, and literature textbooks.  A number of books are from the Roosevelt School library.  A separate reference collection includes titles on the Resources on Ames History list; volumes covering the surrounding area, Iowa, and the Midwest; books about antiques; reprints of old Sears catalogs; and resources on museum and cataloging standards.

MAPS

Benchmark maps include the Andreas Iowa atlas for 1875 and Story County plat books for 1902, 1975, 1980s, and 1990s.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Most photographs are associated with archival collections dealing with Ames residents, organizations, and businesses.  Of particular interest are the framed panoramic photos; those in the Carr's Pool collection dating back to 1916; the Brown, Cole, Ringgenberg, and Tilden families; and Ames Women's Theatre.  Several sets of color slide programs with scripts are avialable.

AUDIO-VISUALS

Audio tape examples include the sound track of the WOI-TV broadcast of the Ames Centennial Parade in 1964 and oral history interviews done by Farwell Brown
Examples of videotape documentaries include :

• An 1862 Hoggatt School day
• Hoggatt School dedication
• Bauge Cabin move and restoration
• Designing downtown Ames with David Dahlquist
• The flood of '93
• Martin Luther King Day presentation by Cynthia Bennet

NEWSPAPERS

Because of their brittle condition and high acid content, old newspapers are not actively collected.  However, a small collection of vintage newspaper issues exists.  Selected examples include :

centennial editions for Story County, Ames, Iowa State College; Iowa sesquicentennial;  U.S. bicentennial

• commemorative issues
• special local events
  • Krushchev visit in 1959; City Hall bombing in 1970; floods of 1947, 1975, 1990, 1993
• special Iowa events
  • tornadoes, visit of the Pope, DC-10 crash, McCaughey septuplets
• historic headlines
  • World War I, World War II
• national events
  • presidential deaths, space exploration
• examples of newspapers 1890s-1930s

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