Wistariahurst
Museum About Us Calendar Education Weddings Exhibits Collections Spring Gala Gardens
Wistariahurst
Museum
About
Us Calendar Education
Weddings
Exhibits Collections
Spring
Gala
Gardens
Archives
and Collections
Archives are the collection of primary source documents pertaining to the history of an institution, city or nation. Archives can be letters, diaries, photographs, pay logs, bills or tickets. Primary source documents provide us with a direct link to history. Wistariahurst collects through donation, purchase and exchange a collection of artifacts and documents that illustrate the history of the Skinner Family and Holyoke. This includes but is not limited to furniture, paintings, decorative arts, textiles and historical documents.
Our archives are important to our mission statement, which is: Through its collections, research, exhibits and programs, the museum is dedicated to promoting an understanding and appreciation of the history and material culture of the William Skinner Family, members of the manufacturing elite, the working class who made that lifestyle possible and the Holyoke region where those people lived. Our goal as a museum is to encourage the public to encounter, enjoy and learn from the varied experiences and cultural expression of the people who gave the Holyoke area its distinct character.
We have two collections housed in our archives. The Skinner Family collection includes maps, blueprints and architectural drawings of homes and other buildings owned by the Skinners as well as scrapbooks, photos, clothing and memorabilia of the family. It also contains products and ledgers from William Skinner & Sons Manufacturing. The Holyoke Collection includes photos, maps, blueprints and memorabilia of Holyoke and surrounding towns.
To Use Our Archives You Will Be Expected To:
1. Schedule an appointment.
2. Fill out registration form and show proper identification.
3. No coats, bags, backpacks will be allowed in the reading room. Please check with a staff person who will look after them for you.
4. Browse through the finding aids and determine which boxes you would like to study. Fill out a call slip provided for you and the staff member will give you what you have requested.
5. Many items in the archives are fragile. Please handle everything with the utmost care. When handling documents and photographs, please wear a pair of white fabric gloves, provided for you in the reading room. All items should remain flat on the table and should not be leaned on, written on, folded or handled in a way that may cause damage.
6. Pencils are the only writing utensil allowed in the reading room. You may use a laptop if you like.
7. Eating and drinking are not allowed. No gum chewing, please.
8. Researchers are not allowed to copy material without the museum's permission. If you would like to receive a photocopy of a document, depending on its condition, fill out a photocopy request form and hand it to a staff member.
9. The researcher agrees not to hold the Wistariahurst Museum, its volunteers or staff responsible for all claims and/or actions occurring out of the researcher' use of material found within the Archives.Basic Principles in Interpreting Archival Documents
In evaluating primary source documents, we recommend the following approach, used by Kevin O'Reilly in his Critical Thinking in U.S. History Series. O'Reilly uses the acronym PROP to remind students to ask important questions to evaluate sources.P - Is this a primary or secondary source?
R - Does the author have a good reason to distort?
O - Have others corroborated what this source has to say?
P - Was this a public or private utterance or document?This is an oversimplification of an excellent process that we encourage you to explore in its entirety.
History as a Process
When we look in the archives, we see history as a process. The letters and diary entries show an evolution of relationships, the processes of running a business and the like. The Industrial Revolution, for example, did not happen over night. When we look at primary source documents, we get to the bare bones of the process that occurred before, during and after the Industrial Revolution.Search Tools
We will soon have some examples of our collection online. In the meantime, if you are interested in visiting our archives, please call 413-322-5660 to make an appointment. When visiting the archives at Wistariahurst Museum, you will be able to search through our database.