The New Hampshire Historical Society was founded in 1823. Its mission is to educate a diverse public about the significance of New Hampshire's past and its relationship to our lives today.
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The New Hampshire Historical Society was founded in 1823. The Society has an extensive collection of objects and archives related to New Hampshire's history. Each year, the Society uses its collections to serve members and visitors through its research library, museum, publications, and outreach programs. The Society's education programs reach children from communities across the state.
The Society is an independent, non-profit organization. The Society depends on contributions from private sources to fund its operations.
The Society is the state's primary organization for collecting, preserving, and sharing Granite State history. Its museum and library offer extensive collections of resources and materials related to New Hampshire history.
The Society collects objects, books, manuscripts, and images that document New Hampshire's history. The collections include approximately 30,000 museum objects, 50,000 printed volumes, 1.5 million pages of manuscripts, 800,000 pages of newspapers, 200,000 photographic images, 10,000 broadsides and ephemera items. Ranging in date from pre-contact to the present day, the Society's holdings reflect broadly the state's economic, political, social, and cultural history.
The New Hampshire Historical Society's staff is prepared to assist in general research on New Hampshire history and genealogy by using any sources found in our library or museum. Research services can be requested by contacting the Society.
The Society owns three properties, all in Concord, the state capital: (1) a 1911 library designed by Guy Lowell; (2) a mid-19th-century commercial structure renovated and opened as the Society's museum in May 1995; and (3) the Eagle Stable, a brick building adjacent to the museum, purchased in October 1993 and currently used as office rental space.
The Society's museum features the long-term overview called New Hampshire Through Many Eyes. The museum also offers changing exhibitions on a variety of topics.
Several items from the museum collection, including paintings, furniture, the original eagle from the New Hampshire State House, and Revolutionary War flags can be seen at the Society's library. Temporary exhibitions are also featured in the library's gallery. In addition, the Society develops traveling exhibitions.
The Society offers a variety of educational programs, including school tours at the museum, outreach programs to classrooms across the state, workshops, lectures, demonstrations, courses, family days, and technical workshops for local historical societies and libraries. The Society published a New Hampshire history curriculum for grades K-12.
The Society's publishes a semi-annual journal, Historical New Hampshire, and a quarterly newsletter featuring information on the Society's events and activities. Additional special publications include exhibition catalogs, gallery brochures, and school activity guides. The Society's publications have received awards from the American Association for State and Local History.
The Society is governed by a 19-member Board of Trustees. The Society employs 13 full-time and 25 part-time staff, assisted by 80 volunteers.
Along with 18 other cultural organizations, the New Hampshire Historical Society is a member of the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium, which offers grants for projects that draw on the collections and resources of the collaborating organizations.
All of the New Hampshire Historical Society's programs and services are made possible by membership dues and contributions from individuals, foundations, and businesses.
The New Hampshire Historical Society is accredited by the American Association of Museums.