The Jefferson County Historical Society is honored to have been awarded a $3000 grant from the Kansas State Historical Records Advisory Board (KSHRAB) to digitize the many artifacts and archives at Old Jefferson Town history museum, making them available not only to the citizens of Jefferson County, but to others across the United States and the world. 

 

KSHRAB offers the grant, funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), to encourage Kansas organizations and individuals to preserve records of the past. 

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Work Begins

On January 10th, 2021, volunteers from the OJT museum began entering the thousands of objects, photos, archives and library items into a software program purchased with the grant money. The Past Perfect Software allows us to digitally organize records that have been kept on paper for the past 50 years, making it easier to locate items in the museum, conduct research, and view the artifacts from anywhere in the world. 

 

Although the project is progressing much more quickly than we imagined, we anticipate it will take us 3-5 years to complete. Each item can take anywhere from 4-10 minutes to enter, and at last estimate there were over 30,000 photos alone, in addition to the more than 5,000 books, thousands of family files and obituaries, and more than 5,000+ objects and artifacts in the museum's inventory.  

 

Help us Preserve History

We are in need of volunteers who can scan photos and documents, file clippings, and assist with the cataloging of the numerous library books and photos. No experience is necessary, we will train you. 

 

Volunteer hours are typically Tuesdays from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm and Saturdays from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Even if you are only available a couple of hours a month, we can keep you busy.

 

For more information, please contact us at oldjefftown@gmail.com.