Adventures in Archiving

A sketch from the museum's website

Yesterday, I was introduced to Sanilac County Historical Society's archive room at the Loop-Harrison mansion. At one point during the tour of the mansion, while studying the contents of a bookcase in the sitting room, I said to Ella, "I think I need to wipe the drool from my mouth."

What was supposed to be a quick tour and introduction turned into a few hours of talk about research interests, reference materials, patron habits, Patriot Act discussion, and local libraries. I managed to add a few more libraries and information depots to my ever-growing list of places to visit.

What a truly fascinating place! And, considering that I have been a resident of Sanilac County for 6 years -- truly a shame that I have not visited the museum earlier in my residency. A phrase that I used, in a paper for Dr. Gonzalez's class, to describe Sandusky and Bad Axe Libraries: "rural gems," also applies to the Sanilac County Historical Society. If you haven't checked them out, I highly recommend doing so this summer when they open to the public.

A blurb about the archive room pulled from the Society's website:

There is a small, library-like room near the back of the Loop-Harrison mansion that we have dubbed the Archive Room.  Over the years, the Sanilac County Historical Society has been given massive amounts of paper records, scrapbooks, family histories, plats, publications, and other items of interest that are currently in the process of being organized.  A goodly amount of material and resources are already available.  Much of what is in the room is fragile, so the archives are not open to the public per se.

When you come to do a family search in person, a volunteer will bring the relevant material to you from the Archive Room.  Researchers enjoy sitting at the huge kitchen table and reading through whatever items are of interest.

I sincerely look forward to working in the archive room!