What We Have
Appreciated by the novice and the envy of the expert, CCHS’ well respected collections represent more than three centuries of regional history- the ordinary, the elegant, the unusual and the necessary. View examples from one of the finest needlework, quilt and Quaker clothing, spice box, furniture and decorative arts collections in the country.
Our Library contains a wealth of information for the researcher – whether your interests are genealogy or local history, property research or antiques. Beginning with the first donation to CCHS back in 1893, our manuscript collections have now grown to number over 500,000 items and include both personal and family papers, as well as the records of businesses, organizations, churches and schools throughout Chester County. Over 25,000 published volumes fill our shelves. We have an extensive collection of genealogies, plus many books and periodicals covering state and local history (including works on neighboring states and counties). The Library's large collection of published works on decorative arts is a resource for both our museum and the public. Characterized as "one of the state's best”, our Newspaper clippings file includes articles dating from the early 1800s to the 1970s. Allow our Map Collection including the Witmer atlas from 1873 and Breou atlas for 1883 for all townships, to aid both the property and family researcher. All of these and many additional resources are available for use by researchers.
If historic photographs are what you seek, the CCHS collection of over 80,000 historical photographs spans the history of photography from daguerreotypes made in the 1840s to modern color images. CCHS collects photographs of Chester County landscapes, buildings, people, businesses, organizations and events.
Appreciated by the novice and the envy of the expert, CCHS’ well respected collections represent more than three centuries of regional history- the ordinary, the elegant, the unusual and the necessary. View examples from one of the finest needlework, quilt and Quaker clothing, spice box, furniture and decorative arts collections in the country.
Our Library contains a wealth of information for the researcher – whether your interests are genealogy or local history, property research or antiques. Beginning with the first donation to CCHS back in 1893, our manuscript collections have now grown to number over 500,000 items and include both personal and family papers, as well as the records of businesses, organizations, churches and schools throughout Chester County. Over 25,000 published volumes fill our shelves. We have an extensive collection of genealogies, plus many books and periodicals covering state and local history (including works on neighboring states and counties). The Library's large collection of published works on decorative arts is a resource for both our museum and the public. Characterized as "one of the state's best”, our Newspaper clippings file includes articles dating from the early 1800s to the 1970s. Allow our Map Collection including the Witmer atlas from 1873 and Breou atlas for 1883 for all townships, to aid both the property and family researcher. All of these and many additional resources are available for use by researchers.
If historic photographs are what you seek, the CCHS collection of over 80,000 historical photographs spans the history of photography from daguerreotypes made in the 1840s to modern color images. CCHS collects photographs of Chester County landscapes, buildings, people, businesses, organizations and events.
Frederick Douglass Circa 1847
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