Collections
Did you know that most museums only have 20% of their collection on display?
The Haines Sheldon Museum is an environmentally controlled building with special on-site compacting storage that prevents dust from building up on our carefully packaged and stored objects. Every item is meticulously documented and entered into a collections program called PastPerfect so they can be searched from an on-site computer.
Collections Overview
In the late 19th and 20th Century, the Tlingit artistic culture in the area of modern day Haines inspired national collecting by ethnologists. The region has a strong salmon cannery history, a strong timber and mining history, and agricultural was also important. The ancient Tlingit access and trade-route from tidewater became the Dalton Trail, and the Chilkat Valley became a lesser-used route to the Klondike gold fields. Haines was the only army post in Alaska for nearly 20 years. This deep regional history is represented in our collection.
The museum houses over 4,500 artifacts from Chilkat Blankets to the Eldred Rock lighthouse lens; 12,000 cataloged photographs and slides of images from the 19th century until today; over 3,000 books about our area; and countless documents including mining company ledgers, journals, pamphlets, letters, ship’s logs, maps and research papers.
Our archive and non-lending library contains many rare books and documents relating to many local subjects. We encourage you to visit the links below for news, information, and a sampling of available topics found in the museum collection.
What Does the Museum Collect?
Our collection grows through the generosity of our community. The museum actively collects items that are region-specific and relevant to our mission. The museum has a comprehensive Collections Management Policy in place, which is reviewed regularly. Along with our long-range institutional plan, this policy guide the collection’s development. A collections committee helps staff develop the collection.
To donate an object to the collection, please visit here for more information.
Inquiries and Access
The HSM provides reasonable and responsible access to the collection to the academic and research community for study and publication, and program and exhibit developers for public exhibition and educational purposes outside of the institution. The type and conditions of such use must be consistent with the Museum’s responsibility for care and preservation of its collections. The Haines Sheldon Museum is committed to stewarding the long-term preservation of its Collection while also fostering the ongoing use of the Collection for research, exhibition, educational, promotional and commercial use.
If you have any research requests or general inquiries regarding collections artifacts or archives, please visit our Research section.