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History committee inventories donations, moves archives ahead of town‑hall renovation
Summary
The History Committee reported processing 145 collections and more than 1,500 catalog entries, inventoried a community association collection, and moved town-owned historical materials into safe storage in preparation for town‑hall renovations and a preservation grant application.
Jean Wilhelm, chair of the History Committee, gave a mid‑year account of work to preserve and catalog the town’s historical materials. She said the committee processed donations from 12 sources, accessioned photos, oral histories and artifacts (including early 19th‑century clocks and deeds), and entered more than 1,500 catalog records across 145 collections.
Wilhelm described cataloging efforts — scanning images into Dropbox and populating the CatalogIt collections management system — and said the committee inventoried the Westport Community Association collection and is entering cemetery‑book records into the database. The committee also moved town collections into secure storage in the history center while the town-hall renovation proceeds.
The committee amended a memorandum of understanding with the Friends of Westport Island History to clarify roles and to support an application for a Maine historic preservation grant that would assist town‑hall preservation. Wilhelm said archival supplies and subscription costs exceeded a modest town appropriation and the committee used capital-reserve funds to cover necessary purchases.
Next steps: continued cataloging, relocation of collections into renovated space, and pursuit of preservation grant funding.
