Historic Cherry Hill

Historic Cherry Hill will use IMLS funds to complete the process of moving collections from the attic of the historic 1787 Van Rensselaer family home to its Edward Frisbee Center for Collections & Research, a 3,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility with appropriate environmental controls, high density shelving and fire suppression. Funds will also be used to improve management of and access to collections by upgrading the museum’s collections database. This project will complete the relocation of important historical objects, manuscripts, textiles, books, and photographs from a poor and potentially damaging storage environment, and make the collections both physically and digitally accessible for staff and researchers. The collections database upgrade will lay the groundwork for future digitization projects and dramatically increase access to the Van Rensselaer household collection. The project will support the museum’s efforts to serve a broadening audience of users and its transformation into a center for the study of American social, political, and economic history.