The State Historical Society, Inc. of Iowa has awarded Prairie Rivers of Iowa with a $5,000 grant to begin an estimated $10,000 project to inventory the Lincoln Highway Museum in Grand Junction, Iowa.
Created in 1983, as a separate entity from the State Historical Board, the State Historical Society, Inc. of Iowa is a non-profit dedicated to protecting the heritage of Iowa. The organization utilizes its funds to support the preservation of Iowa’s history with a grant cycle available twice a year. Grants are available for projects which:
- Collect and preserve materials
- Conduct historical studies and research projects
- Spread knowledge of the history of Iowa
Bob and Joyce Ausberger own and manage the Lincoln Highway Museum in Grand Junction, Iowa. In the late 1980s, the Ausbergers set out to save the Eureka Bridge in Greene County from destruction. After winning the battle in court to save a version of the historic bridge, the Ausbergers were tied to the Lincoln Highway and the preservation of its history.
Through the years, the Ausbergers have collected an estimated 1000 objects related to the Lincoln Highway and highway development in Iowa. In addition to objects and artifacts, the museum, housed in an old bank, features a well-established library of books, postcards, original blue-prints, and the archive of a precursor group to the Iowa Lincoln Highway Association.
The Lincoln Highway Museum Inventory Project began last spring with the assistance of the Historical Society of Iowa’s Field Services Program. Collections professional, Angela Stanford from Advanced Museum Services visited the museum and was able to define a scope and proper methods and procedures to use for completion of an inventory. To complete the inventory by a professional, an estimated $10,000 is needed. The $5,000 will allow us to begin the inventory and establish a system which can be completed in the future when additional funding is found.
At the conclusion of the inventory, the Lincoln Highway Museum will have a comprehensive record of what is in the collection and where the pieces are located within the museum. The inventory document will also be a tool to identify gaps in the collection and to add stories to the artifact entries.
As museums and archives struggle with traditional funding practices to preserve history, we must continue to take the steps necessary to ensure that history is not lost. The Lincoln Highway Museum Inventory is that current step that we are taking to look to the future.
