Collection Criteria
Artifacts in the Waukesha County Museum's collection shall meet one or all of the following criteria:
- All items must be considered suitable to the collection and meet the Museum's stated mission.
- They must be documented as having been created or used in Waukesha County or have a significant impact on Waukesha County history.
- They must significantly document or illustrate the history of Waukesha County or Waukesha County's role in Wisconsin and United States history.
- All items accepted into the collection must be in good and original condition to permit their use for research or exhibition purposes, or be sufficiently important to warrant the cost of conservation. The Curator of Collections will limit collecting to items that the Society can reasonably preserve, care for, store, and make accessible.
- All items must have provenance identified, must be accompanied by clear title, and must comply with all local, state, federal laws and regulations governing possession, ownership of cultural, historical and archaeological artifacts.
Collection Objectives
The objective of the Artifact Collection is to maintain and build upon the present collection of objects, with emphasis placed on collecting those objects, which represent all socioeconomic levels in Waukesha County. The Artifact Collection shall include:
- Those objects pertaining directly to Waukesha County (1846 – present), its territory (time of Waukesha County being a territory of Milwaukee County), and its prehistory.
- Flat textiles and clothing, comprising historical, personal, and household items of Waukesha County.
- Tools and equipment that represent domestic activity, agriculture, education, transportation, communication, crafts, industry and recreation of Waukesha County.
Donations to the Collections Department can be arranged by appointment.
For more information, please contact our Curator of Collections, Elizabeth Engel at eengel@wchsm.org .
