Glencoe Historical Society Collection

The Glencoe Historical Society is devoted to the collecting, protecting and preserving of documents, maps, items and artifacts pertaining to the Village of Glencoe, its residents and formal and informal institutions.

The Society will collect maps, printed matter, books, magazines, correspondence, both published and unpublished, and artifacts that will inform about and pertain to Glencoe residents and the Village’s organizations.

The Society is devoted to history, including archaeology and ethnology, botany and geology. Archeological finds are defined as those artifacts which have been discovered in the area of Glencoe, Illinois, United States. American Indiana site artifacts would be included as well as remains of cremations or burials.

Ethnological information is defined as material originally obtained from living cultural groups. Using classification systems from the United States Park Service “Manual for Museums,” ethnological information includes information on Indian tribes, their hunting, fishing, agriculture, plant gathering, medicine, shelter, government, transportation and mortuary customs.

History is defined to include specimens and documents preserved for study or interpretation of Glencoe. In the area of history of residents, the Society will collect written information either first person or narrative about the individual, documents pertaining to the individual and artifacts from the individual’s home, office, summer residence or other place of abode.

The Society will collect textiles, furnishings, furniture and glass, metal and wooden ware which are indicative of the life-styles of Glencoe residents in given time periods. The Society would accept an item of a given period even if the artifact had not been owned by a Glencoe resident, but wherever possible, would seek the same item which had been owned by a Glencoe resident.

The Society will collect governmental and organizational documents. Such documents will be solicited from local government groups, churches and synagogues, clubs and charitable organizations and other formal and informal groups which operate in the Village.

The Society will not collect information about government, schools, or other organizations out of Glencoe. Thus, New Trier Township High School artifacts which involved Glencoe residents may be included in the collection, but the Society disavows the responsibility to collect the historical record of the high school. Similarly, other township, county or state governments, or organizations which involved or focused on more than the Village of Glencoe.

For purposes of definition, information or documents will imply and include the following:

  • Letters, correspondence of family, friends and visitors
  • Diaries, scrapbooks and account books
  • Wills, inventories, papers of administration and other estate records, deeds and title searches
  • Tax records
  • Miscellaneous legal papers including civil suits, bankruptcy and other action
  • Census records
  • License records
  • School records
  • Church or synagogue records
  • Cemetery records
  • Military records
  • Records of craftsmen and tradesmen
  • City directories
  • Newspapers
  • Magazines
  • Catalogues of furniture collections, antique sales
  • Paintings, prints and photographs
  • Maps, charts and graphs