What We Collect

Inspector's tools for the model 1841 Harpers Ferry Rifle

NPS/HAFE 7427, Harpers Ferry NHP Museum Collection

Many events happened over the centuries at Harpers Ferry, and people keep mementos, write about their experiences, and commemorate these historic events. The park collects, preserves, and exhibits a sampling of these items as represented by the museum collection, and there are many items in private collections that could fill gaps within our collections. While we cherish and value all historic objects, due to space constraints, the park has strict collection guidelines, as set forth in the Scope of Collections Statement.

In general, we collect objects and archives related to John Brown's raid, the Civil War, industrial technology, transportation, and African-American history.

If you have something that you believe might be of interest to the park, please contact the park prior to delivering the potential donation. It is important to our review process that you include photographs of all sides of the item(s) you wish to donate and any identifying marks. Also include the dimensions of the items as part of this submission.

We cannot accept all items offered and have a committee of senior park staff to assist making these decisions. If it is determined that your items do not fit in our Scope of Collections Statement, we will attempt to provide information of other museums you might wish to contact.

 

Botanical specimen (Seururus Cernuus L. or Lizards Tail) collected in the park in 1982

NPS/HAFE 199791, Harpers Ferry NHP Museum Collection

Natural history is another component of the collections. Field research is conducted at times at the park, and those specimens and records are included in the park collections. If you are interested in conducting field work at the park, please see the Curatorial Requirements for Research Permits page.




Collections main page

Research Requests