2023 Updates!

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Planning for the Future

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It's been a busy winter at Delaware County Historical Society (DCHS)! Our staff continues to undergo an inventory and vetting of its entire collection, which dates back to the organization's founding in 1895. This standard practice ensures that all items are accounted for, in a stable preservation state, and accurately reflect Delaware County history.

 

As many of you are aware, in August last year, the DCHS board voted unanimously to sell the current building that the organization occupies in Chester, due to insurmountable costs of maintaining the building and unsafe conditions. DCHS is actively in the process of seeking a new location, with support from the County, that is better suited and more centrally located to provide improved access to the collection.

 

DCHS is nearly 75% of the way through the collection and is preparing items for the eventual move. Experts in library and archival sciences have been consulted through the process to ensure that everything is done by the highest of standards. The goal is to protect these rare items and make them more easily accessible to the public.

 

Incredible historical finds have come to light in the process of conducting the inventory. For example, rediscovered within our collection includes an issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette published in December 1763 by Benjamin Franklin, and John Broomall’s book of Latin Syntax, published in 1819.

 

This year will be a significant period of change for DCHS, as we move to a new location and focus on the organization's future as a hub for local historical preservation, research and education. A primary goal in the future is to improve accessibility through digitization of our collection. DCHS plans to maintain rotating artifact displays and develop programming and events in the near future.

 

Thank you to all of our supporters who are bringing DCHS into a new era and protecting our legacy. Together, we are looking forward to a bright future for Delco history.

 

Please consider making a donation towards our work! Visit padelcohistory.org for more information or click the link below.

 

- Paul Hewes, Interim Director -

 

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