Donating to Collections

The Morrison County Historical Society welcomes donations to its various collections. Those artifacts, photographs or archival documents dealing with some aspect of Morrison County history will be given primary consideration. When contemplating a donation, remember that almost anything can be considered historically important. Everyday objects, such as pens with business advertising or a well-used tool or overalls, make wonderful additions to our collections because of the stories they tell. With the museum’s limited storage, it is advisable to call ahead (320-632-4007) to see if your donation will be accepted.

Historical Society staff are more concerned with the historical value of an item than its monetary value. If you wish to give something that you think has monetary value, you will need to get an appraisal of the item before you decide to donate it. Historical Society staff cannot legally appraise items. The monetary value of your donation (or a portion of it) may be tax deductible, so check with an accountant to see how this affects your filing.

Collections donations become the permanent property of the Morrison County Historical Society and cannot be returned to the donor or donor’s relatives. Staff will never pressure you to make a donation, so if you are considering it, but are unsure, it is better to keep the item and make the decision at a later date.

Donations may be dropped off at the museum during open hours. If you are not able to drop off a donation, you may call the museum at 320-632-4007 to make other arrangements. When a donation is made, you will be asked to fill out and sign a simple form. Please add any historical information you know about your donation to the form as it helps staff to place it in the larger context of Morrison County history.

8 Replies to “Donating to Collections”

  1. I would like to donate a genealogy of Jacob Ehrlichmann and Per Persson/Otto ANderson. Please let me know if you accept these. Some time in the near future I will deliver them to you

    Reply

    1. Hi, Bonnie – We would love to have a copy of your genealogies. When you stop in, we’ll have you fill out a donation form so that we can officially accept them in the collection. You can drop them off any time during our open hours – Tuesday through Saturday, 10-5. Thanks so much for thinking of us.

      Mary Warner
      Museum Manager

      Reply

        1. Bonnie, Thank you for your comment. Feel free to send genealogies related to the history of Morrison County residents. If we accept them for the collections, we would send you a Donation Record for you to sign and return. MCHS Staff

          Reply

  2. I have a book of transcribed letters written by my uncle, Ralph Jabez McPherson. Several McPherson families lived in the area of Little Falls, Crow Wing Lake, and Fort Ripley during the first quarter of the 20th century. The book provides a unique view of rural Minnesota during that time as well as a history of the McPherson family. The book has a comprehensive index, many photographs and genealogy family group sheets for McPherson kin.

    i would be pleased to donate a copy to your historical society. I live in southern Oregon and can not come into your library. However, you could send a copy of the donation form to me as an attachment to an email reply. I could then complete the form and send it and the book to the MCHS.

    Please let me know if you are interested in this book.

    Thank you,
    Joan G. Hill

    Reply

    1. Joan – The book sounds like it would be a good addition to the collection. Thanks for thinking of us.
      Ann Marie

      Reply

  3. We’re looking for a home for a redundant resource in the West Fargo (North Dakota) Historical Center. It is a reprint of the Morrison county portions of a publication called “Nichols Headlight” published by the Morrison County Record on 14 November 1999 and numbers 64 pages. Condition is very good, one or two small tears on pages and slightly yellowing paper.

    If your society is interested in receiving this as a donation, please contact us via email (or send your donation form.) If you are not interested in receiving this item but know of some other center which might benefit from having, please let us know who they are, so that we might offer it to them.

    Thanking you for your attention in advance.

    Reply

    1. Hi, Jackie – We’ll have our curator reply to you privately when she is back in the office. Thanks for your question.

      Mary Warner
      Executive Director

      Reply

Leave a Reply