Research Room & Archives

Archives

The Archives are comprised of collections.  A collection is defined as an item or group of items coming from one donor or source.  Our focus is on Miamisburg and Miami Township.  The society acquires its collections through various means:

•     donations from residents of Miamisburg and other individuals who wish to share their family's local memorabilia items

•     building owners who have found old records and photographs in their basements and attics

•     local auctions and the internet's eBay on-line auction site

Items in our collections fall into various categories:

    Photographs:        family & individual portraits, buildings & homes, events, postcards

    Journals/Diaries:  business journals, civic organization minute records, personal diaries/letters

    Artifacts:                business advertisement give-aways, items manufactured in Miamisburg

    Ephemera:              posters, broadsides, and tickets

    Books:                    local interest, yearbooks

Research Room

The Research Room provides a wide array of local research materials.  Whether your interest is in the history of your older home, a business from the past, your ancestors, school yearbooks, or the early settlers of Miamisburg, the society has collected and organized them for your perusal.

You will find the following research topics in the form of books and files:

• Businesses  *  Homes  *  Buildings  *  Civic Organizations  *  Churches  *  Cemeteries  *  Schools  *  People

• Local Interest Topics  *  Founding of Miamisburg  *  Newspapers  *  Census Abstracts  *  Obituaries  *  Maps

• Veterans  *  Funeral Home Records

The researcher can access books on the open shelves in the Research Room.  A society volunteer will pull files and collections from the archives.

A state-of-the-art microfilm machine is available in the Research Room for viewing microfilms and microfiche.  Copies can be made directly from the machine.

Volunteers will be on hand to make photocopies of research materials.

Preservation

The society takes great care and attention in preserving our collections.  A grant by the Ohio Humanities Council provided funds to purchase archival grade storage materials.

Rare books are stored in archival grade plastic bags.  Letters and other paper items are placed in archival quality file folders and organized in acid-free document boxes.  Artifacts are stored in like-quality boxes.  Photographs are placed in archival boxes and rare documents are encapsulated in museum-quality Mylar.

Collections are processed and cataloged by national museum standards.  Each item in a collection is assigned an accession number and location identifier.  The society has created a customized database to catalog our holdings.  This computerization enables the researcher to more readily locate research materials.

Location:  Miamisburg Historical Society's Research Room is located in the Market Square Building at the corner of Route 725.Central Avenue and Main Street.

Hours:    Hours of operation are Wednesday and Saturdays 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm or by special appointment.  Hours are subject to change.

Contact:    Contact can be made by calling the society's office at 937 859-5000 or by email.

Fees:    The Research Room is free to the public.  A research fee will be charged for requests by mail, email and phone.  Please inquire for rates.  A minimal fee is charged for photocopies and microfilm  copies.

Donations:    If you would like to donate your family items, please contact the society via phone, letter or email and someone from the society will be happy to talk with you.  We will provide you with a Deed of Gift form for you tax records.

Our knowledgeable volunteers are available to assist you with your research needs.  We think you will find our facilities to be "user friendly".  It has been organized to accommodate any level of researcher.  We hope you will find our vast collections interesting and useful.

HRRC Collection Program

The society's Research Room was opened with much fanfare and anticipation this past spring.  Since the opening, we have received many inquiries on making donations of personal/family memorabilia and interesting local items.  We are usually asked these three questions:

1. How are the items handles after I donate them?

2. Can others view the items I donate?

3. What kinds of things do you already have at the society?

The main concern of a donor is "how are we going to take care of their donations".  The society can boast that we use the methods and practices utilized by large societies and museums in preserving our collections.  We had the opportunity and funds to do preservation the correct way before we opened the collections to the public.

Let us walk you through the steps we take after items are donated to the society:

1. A Deed of Gift is given to the donor as acknowledgement of their donation.

2. The items are assigned an accession number.  This simply means an inventory/tracking number.  Every item in our collection has a unique accession number and the number is written on the item in an inconspicuous place.

3. A Collections Worksheet is filled out.  The donor name, date of donation, and each item's description type, description of the item, and location are logged.

4. The item is place in the appropriate archival material.

5. The Collection Worksheet is entered into our collection's database in the computer so we locate the items.

Our trained volunteers spend countless hours ensuring the best care is given to donations.  Their commitment to preserving our history is commendable

The society is fortunate to have two permanent facilities to hold our collections.  They are the Gebhart Tavern Museum and Market Square Building

Gebhart Tavern Museum:    The museum houses our "larger" donations such as hand tools, household items, clothing and Indian artifacts.  The museum is open  Sundays 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, June through September or by special request

Research Room:    Society members and the general public are welcome guests at the Research Room located on the first floor of the Market Square Building.  Books, maps, yearbooks and family histories can be freely accessed on the bookshelves.  The Archives Room houses original photographs, letters, family memorabilia, rare books and small artifacts.  Volunteers are on hand to retrieve there items for viewing.  The Research Room is open on Wednesday and Sundays from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

Permanent Displays:    The Market Square Building affords us space to showcase some of our interesting donations as artwork and decorations.  The first floor of the building has rotating displays of photographs, business memorabilia and general items of interest in cabinets that are part of Miamisburg's history in their own right.  The second floor auditorium's East wall is covered with local business signs, fretwork salvaged from the old Weber House.  Photographs and pictures adorn various walls.  Stoneware jugs, a wooden grist mill wheel and candle molds can be seen on top of the serving area cabinets.

Exhibits:    Last fall the society presented the "Tobacco Industry in Miamisburg" exhibit to its members and general public.  Some of the items displayed were from the society's archives and collections.  More exhibits are planned for the future to highlight additional artifacts and items of interest.

A Museum and archives is only as good as the items that have been donated or acquired.  We are so fortunate to have had so many residents, organizations and businesses donated their local memorabilia  items.  Many times the donor thought we might not be interested in the items other would not have any historical value to us.  Although we cannot accept all historical items that do not pertain to Miamisburg, we do focus on local items of interest.  One specific donor comes to mind.  Her great-grandfather's  journals, recordings of who visited the farm, the weather, and what chores he did that day, were passed down in her family.  She wasn't sure we would be interested in the books and what value they would be to the society.  These journals are one of the most interesting collections we have.  There research value is priceless as it give us a first-hand account of life in the late 1800's.

It would be impossible to list all of the items the society has in its archives.  The following is a summary of the kinds of things the society has.

• Photographs and postcards  *  Personal letters and diaries  *  Family bibles  *  Local author books  *  Business journals
• Grade school report cards  *  Marriage, birth and baptismal certificates  *  Historical flags  *  Tobacco industry tools and implements
• City of Miamisburg Ordinance books from the early 1900's  *  Family genealogies  *  Vintage clothing  *  Yearbooks
• Maps  *  Business advertisement give-aways  *  High school diplomas  *  Family genealogies  *  Pottery and kitchen items
• Indian artifacts  *  Tools

Please remember the society when deciding what to do with your Miamisburg memorabilia.  Not only will your collection be preserved, others can benefit though research.