Ames Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1980 as Ames Heritage Association.  Our founder is Ames historian, Farwell T. Brown, whose historical writings and research have inspired residents to appreciate and preserve the history of Ames.  The immediate impetus for founding of the organization was the opportunity to save and restore Ames’ first schoolhouse, the one-room Hoggatt School built during 1861-1862.  The Articles of Incorporation, dated November 13, 1980, included the following incorporators: F. Terrill Adams, Elmer C. Aurand, Farwell Brown, Elizabeth Ferguson, Rodney Fox, Reinhard K. Friedrich, Ruth F. Hamilton, Herbert R. Hatch, Earl Holtz, Glenn E. Holmes, Jere Maddux, Gladys Meads, Marvin F. Miller, and David L. Moorhead.  Bylaws were adopted January 1981 and revised in 1990, 1992, and 2001.  At a special meeting on December 8, 2003, the Board of Directors and membership voted to change the organizational name to Ames Historical Society to better reflect our purpose.  The new name became effective on January 1, 2004.

The Board of Directors sets general policies and guides the Society in managing its collections, programs, and financial affairs.  Regular meetings are held on the second Monday of each month.  Board members serve three-year terms and are elected at the annual spring meeting.  Current members (2008) are:  Kathy Svec (president), Amy Swenson (secretary), Ken Cameron (treasurer), Peggy Baer, Roger Coulson, Joanne Goldman, Nick Howell, Dottie Tschopp McGee, Carol Phillips, Neal Tarman, and Dennis Wendell.

Membership is available to anyone subscribing to the Society’s mission statement.  The total number of members in 2008 exceeds 350 individuals.  Dues are set according to the following categories: Introductory ($10), Individual ($25), Family ($40), Friend ($50), Sustaining ($100), Benefactor ($500), and Patron ($1,000).  Membership runs for 12 months from the date of joining.  An annual meeting is held each spring for the entire membership.

Benefits of membership include:

• satisfaction of supporting preservation of Ames history, presentation of exhibits and programs, publication of books, and expansion of our website
• quarterly newsletter
• discount on books at the local bookstore, Antique Ames

The mission of the Society is to identify, record, collect, preserve, and provide access to evidence of the history of Ames and its immediate vicinity from pre-settlement times to the present.  To further this mission the Society collects and preserves artifacts and archival materials, operates an 1860s one-room schoolhouse museum, and plans to create a future Ames History Center and Museum.

• Preserve Ames history.  We collect and preserve archival materials, artifacts, and memories that document city government, schools, businesses, organizations, residents, transportation and events in Ames. The collection  activities of the Society are guided by its Acquisition Policy.  The Ames Historical Collection represents the main repository of the Society’s collecting efforts.  Historical materials are presently stored in approximately 1000 sq. ft. of rented space at 416 Douglas, which functions as our headquarters and temporary museum.  Several other off-site locations are also used for collection storage.  The Rural Life Heritage Collection, formerly the Bauge Norwegian Heritage Collection,  is kept at the Story County Conservation Board headquarters at McFarland Park.

• Operate a one-room school museum.  Hoggatt School was the first schoolhouse in the vicinity and was built in 1861-1862 to serve area residents before the city of Ames was established.  The acquisition, move, and restoration of this school were the driving forces in the founding of the Society.  In 1981 the one-room, log-frame building was moved to its present location on the grounds of Meeker School and restored.  Furnishings, fixtures, textbooks and other artifacts are authentic to the period of the 1860s.   The school is open to the public on weekends from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. during the summer, June 1st to August 31st, and is available for pre-arranged visits from April 1st to October 31st.  Visitors can sit at desks and write with slate pencils on slates or examine old textbooks as they imagine one teacher handling multiple grades and subjects each day.

• Publish a quarterly newsletter for members.  Newsletter issues typically include news of past and future activities, a curator’s column covering recent additions to the collections, website enhancements, and special articles (sometimes written by members or guest authors).  Special features have focused on topics such as Carr’s Pool, Joe Gerbracht and his movie theaters, and growing up in Ames in the 1940s.

• Create exhibits.  At various times staff members have created a variety of exhibits that can be loaned at no charge to Ames organizations.  Exhibits consist of photographs, copies of original documents, and text mounted on art-board panels.  Topics include Ames Names, Main Street Stories, Old Town Architecture, The Railroad in Ames, and many others.

• Present programs.  The general public is invited to free programs throughout the year and at the annual meeting of the Society.  In addition, board members have prepared various presentations that are available to local organizations desiring programs.  Presenters use visual aids and/or artifacts to enliven the talks.  Topics include:  Ames & College Railway (Dinkey); Ames Remembers World War II Project; Coming and Going: the Lincoln Highway in Ames; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Speech in Ames; Footnotes in Ames History; Hallett’s Quarry: a Photographic Tour; A History of the Arts in Ames; Mystery Suitcase; One-room Schools; The Role of a Historical Society; and Women in Ames History.

• Sell gift items.  A sampling of publications, postcards, and one-room school associated items are sold at headquarters gift shop.   Ames community history, 1864-1964 and Faces of our Founders are popular titles available at very reasonable prices.

• Loan artifacts.  Vintage items were loaned to the First National Bank on the occasion of its centennial, and two Main Street businesses, Olde Main Restaurant and Gallery 319, have displayed items from the Society’s collections.

• Provide reference service.  By using archival materials such as business and organizational records, papers of individuals, photographs, books and maps in the collections, and the collective memories of long-time residents, staff and volunteers attempt to solve the many questions that come to us each month.  For instance: Was the Henry Chavis murder ever solved?  Do you have a photo of an Omar Bakery van?  Could the wooden paving block I purchased at an antique store have originally been used in Ames?

• Maintain a website.  Because the Society’s headquarters have been almost totally taken up with collection storage and work areas, little display and visitor space remains. Therefore we decided to bring the collections to patrons via the Internet.  Response has been wonderful.  One former resident and software architect described our website as one of the best looking, best functioning, and best content websites of any kind that I have ever seen, and another user wrote that it is downright fun to surf.

• Cooperate with local organizations.  AHS maintains a close working relationship with the other two pillars of the Main Street Cultural District: the Ames Public Library (APL), and The Octagon Center for the Arts.  We regularly confer on collection development, reference questions, and photo identification with key APL staff, and interact with Octagon staff on preservation and storage issues.  Paintings and photos are loaned to ISU’s Brunnier Art Museum for exhibits, and the Story County Conservation Board staff is storing artifacts from the former Bauge log home and using these articles in their educational outreach programming at its McFarland Park headquarters.

The highest priority of the Society is a permanent history center and museum for Ames.  In order to continue saving rapidly disappearing historical articles, we urgently need to acquire adequate space of our own for proper storage and display.  Due to a quickened pace of collecting, the Society has already been forced to convert limited exhibit space to collection storage and processing.  Older residents are passing on weekly taking their untold stories with them.  Artifacts deteriorate and disappear without warning.  A few summers ago the 60-year Ames Tribune photo archive was rescued in the nick of time before acid deterioration destroyed the oldest images.  Items from the 1919 Ames Theater were salvaged as the renovation dust was literally falling on the collector.  The Society has already lost chances to receive invaluable artifacts.  An historical society without a museum cannot leave a permanent legacy.

Membership dues alone cannot support the many activities of the Society.  Listed below are only a few of our on-going needs:

· Purchase of archival quality storage containers
· Processing of incoming collections
· Creation of exhibits
· Maintenance of the website
· Preservation of the one-million image Ames Tribune Photo Archive
· Publishing costs of the Ames Remembers World War II Project
· Maintenance of the 1862 Hoggatt School as a museum
· Funding of a student internship in museum practices

The Ames Historical Society collects and preserves artifacts, archival records and other materials of historical significance relating primarily to Ames and its immediate vicinity (portions of Washington, Franklin, Grant and Milford townships).  Artifacts solicited preferably contribute to a clearer understanding of past activities and customs, or are associated with important events, periods, or personalities.  Archival records relating to individuals, organizations or businesses encompass such forms as correspondence, diaries, minutes, ledgers, histories, biographies, genealogies, scrapbooks, maps, photographs, audio and video recordings of oral history interviews, color slides and films.  In all instances preference will be given to items in good condition with a well-documented Ames/Story County connection, i.e. created, owned or used by area residents, organizations, businesses, and government.

• There is a longstanding need.
A front-page article in the December 8, 1916 issue of the Ames Evening Times decried the lack of a public museum because Ames was losing its pioneer heritage.  Ninety years later our city still has no museum and now 150 years of undocumented history have accumulated.  The need is even more pressing today as artifacts and recollections are lost daily.

• The city’s reputation is at stake.
Ames is one of the few communities in Story County without a local history museum. It is embarrassing that our city, which strives to be a state leader in so many areas, lags behind in historic preservation and cultural museums.  Ames school children are bused to The Museum at Maxwell when local history is taught.  Why is it that Maxwell (population 800) owns three large buildings totaling over 12,000 square feet and Ames doesn’t?  The prototype of an early infant respirator developed jointly by local doctors and university staff was donated to the State Historical Society; Civil War-related items were given to the Maxwell museum -- all because Ames lacked an appropriate historical facility.

• Local collectors are assured a legacy.
Unique collections in Ames beg for public display.  An Ames resident has cars that he would like to see exhibited (a 1925 Kissel Goldbug that won best of show in Florida, a 1920 Peerless with original paint, a choice Pierce Arrow).  Several collectors have mechanical musical instruments like nickelodeons, band organs, and reproducing pianos that need to be heard.  Another Ames resident has a definitive collection of products made by Ames’ Collegiate Manufacturing Company as well as antique bottles and Ames memorabilia that cry out for exhibit.    A secure museum with environmental controls and open hours would guarantee a legacy for these collectors.

• Museums encourage tourism.
Historical museums draw tourists.  Observe those in Des Moines, Decorah, Mount Pleasant, Pella, or our close neighbor, Maxwell.  Visitors to the Main Street Cultural District patronize the antique mall, unique restaurants, specialty shops, Octagon, Public Library, and visit Historic Old Town.  An Ames Historical Museum in the Cultural District could be the climax of a memorable visit to downtown.

• Museums improve the economy.
Visitors spend money on admissions, merchandise, food and lodging.  Their economic activity benefits the entire community.

• A local museum promotes pride in the community.
Residents take great pride in Ames.  A museum is a significant medium for expressing this to visitors, and provides volunteer docents with enjoyable opportunities to explain exhibits and reflect on the special attributes of our city.
• Museums showcase the contributions of residents and businesses.
For 140 years, local entrepreneurs have helped make Ames what it is today.  Some were born and raised here; others made Ames their hometown of choice.  All left a mark and are worthy of having their stories told.  There are lessons in perseverance in overcoming obstacles as well as humor in boondoggles.

• A local history center and museum educates newcomers and youth.
Knowledge of local history allows new residents to better understand their chosen town.  Youth, exposed to history at an impressionable age, develop a life-long interest in historical subjects.

• Museums help establish a sense of place and who we are.
The importance of a “sense of place” is well established in attracting residents and organizations to locate and remain in locales.  History, more than any other factor, defines such a concept.  As a trustee of Ames’ historical legacy and an advocate for understanding its past, Ames Historical Society helps residents comprehend who they are and what they can become.

• Ames Historical Society desperately needs adequate space for its growing collections.
The Society has filled its 900 square feet of rented space with 90 linear feet of archival records, several hundred books, thousands of objects, and a million photographic images.  In addition, artifacts occupy 400 square feet of temporary basement space at Story County Conservation Center and another 200 square feet of storage space in Nevada and Ames.  On the horizon is the potential acquisition of 1,000 square feet of items of historical significance to the community and beyond.  If we are to fulfill our mission of preserving the past, important donations cannot be refused when they become available.  Already there is a waiting list of fine Victorian furniture to be gifted and displayed once we have a secure facility.  Rejected gifts can go elsewhere or be lost.