Make an online donation at the Louisville History Foundation website.
Donations
The Museum welcomes donations of artifacts, photographs, and documents that relate to the history of the Louisville, Colorado area. Your gifts help us collect, preserve, and share that history.
There are several ways to give: donate an item or photo, make a monetary gift, or make a memorial donation. You'll find details for each below.
Donate an item or photograph
Before you donate any item, please contact the Museum staff first. This lets us confirm whether we can accept it and set up a time to review it. Please email the Museum or call (303) 335-4850.
All items the Museum receives become property of the City of Louisville. As the caretaker of these collections, the Museum and the City preserve and interpret them in keeping with the Museum's mission.
Photographs we're interested in
Our historic photo collection holds over 4,800 images. Donated photos may be shared through our online collection database. We are especially interested in photos of:
- Coal mining in the area
- Historic downtown Louisville
- Louisville families and houses
- Immigrants who came to the area
- Louisville businesses and commercial growth
- Recreation, social activities, and events
- Social or political movements and current events
Prefer to keep your original?
If you'd rather not part with an original photo or document, ask us about donating a high-resolution scanned copy. Our staff can help scan images in the correct format for preservation.
How items are reviewed
Accepted items usually need a connection to Louisville's history. An item without a direct link may still be accepted if it represents an activity common to the area and supports the Museum's mission. Museum staff work with the Louisville Historical Commission to decide what enters the collection.
Items are sometimes declined, for example if they duplicate something we already have, lack a clear tie to local history, or if we don't have space.
If your donation moves forward, you'll sign a Deed of Gift form. (A Deed of Gift is a form that transfers ownership of the item to the Museum.) The form is then presented to the Louisville Historical Commission for acceptance at its next regular meeting.
For full details, see the Collections Management Policy
Make a monetary donation
Please make monetary donations to the Louisville History Foundation, Inc. The Foundation is the 501(c)(3) that raises funds in support of the Museum. (A 501(c)(3) is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.)
You can give in two ways:
Make your check out to the Louisville History Foundation. Then either:
- Mail it to 749 Main Street, Louisville, CO 80027
- Bring it to the Museum at 1001 Main Street
Please include a phone number or email in case we have questions about your donation.
Donations to the Museum are tax deductible. Thank you for your support!
Memorial donations
A memorial donation is a monetary gift made in memory of someone who has died. The person often had a Louisville connection, but that is not required.
We list these gifts in the next issue of our quarterly publication, The Louisville Historian, along with the person's birth and death years. This lets families honor loved ones and share their memory with others, including those who now live elsewhere. Sometimes a family names the Foundation as the preferred place for memorial gifts through an obituary.
To give a memorial donation, use either method above. Please add a note saying it is a memorial donation and include the name of the person being remembered.
Collection wishlist
We are especially hoping to add the items below. Please contact the Museum staff before offering an item. If you'd prefer to keep an original, ask about scanning it.
- Centaurus High School yearbooks: 1977, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999
- Composite photos of Louisville High School graduating classes: all classes before 1936 except 1909, 1915, 1921, 1923, and 1925; and the classes of 1954, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1970, and 1971
- Coal mine photos and ledgers, plus journals, letters, receipts, and other handwritten documents tied to the area
- Photos of homes and businesses in old town Louisville, with or without people. Specific buildings need not be identified.
- Photos of Red Men's Hall (inside or out); scenes of Main Street, Little Italy, and Frenchtown; and Louisville's saloons and pool halls
- Old home movies and photo negatives related to the area
- Photos from any era showing parts of current Louisville that were once outside the town's historic boundaries, such as South Boulder Rd., McCaslin Blvd., Dillon Rd., Cherry St., and Hwy 42
- Issues or pages of The Louisville Times from 1913 to 1942, plus photos and information about Louisville's newspapers and publishers
- Items from Louisville businesses, such as menus, matchbooks, and promotional pieces from local restaurants
- Items tied to Louisville's ethnic heritage and immigration, especially the Hispanic and Asian communities, such as household objects, personal items, or items brought from countries of origin
- Items about local law enforcement, including photos, records, and artifacts of town marshals, police chiefs, and the Police Department
- Photographs, programs, The Lookout school newspaper, and written memories about Louisville schools
- For the Tomeo House, 1920s or 1930s items: a plain kitchen table and chairs, two plain single beds, and a bed cover or quilt for a single bed