Donating to the CT SHPO Museums

Almost all our collections are the result of individual donations, so we are interested in working with potential donors. However, with thousands of objects, photographs, books and archival materials, the SHPO State Museums must be selective in what we accept, so we can ensure the items are cared for, and fit in with our collecting scopes and interpretive themes. We are working hard to catalog and make available online as many of our collections as possible.

PLEASE DO NOT DROP OFF OR MAIL ITEMS.  We will not accept unsolicited materials. 

If you have reason to believe that an item should be part of our collections, we ask you to follow this procedure:

1. Look at the Scope of Collections and Interpretive Themes for the Museum you are interested in donating to
2. Fill out the Donation Inquiry Form
3. Sit back and relax

All potential donations go through a process to ensure that the items to be donated fit in our scope and themes, and we can properly care for and store the item. Once museum staff have designated that the item is something we would like to acquire, we will contact you.

All items to be accepted into the collections need to be approved by our Collections Committee, which consists of the Director of Arts, Preservation and Museums, the four Museum Curators/Site Administrators, the Curator of Collections, staff from the CT State Historic Preservation Office, and other museum professionals.