THE ARCHIVES: Over 7,000 Artifacts in the Collection 

The Archives provide a basis for the museum’s exhibition and education programs, for research and study, for special lectures, and for the cultural and educational enrichment of the community. There are over 7,000 artifacts in this collection. The museum collects items from all eras with a heavy emphasis on local provenance.

NEW ADDITION: The David E. Clark Archive of the Wenham Community Band

The Wenham Museum is proud to steward the archive of David E. Clark, a long-time Wenham resident, musician, and founder of the Wenham Community Band and its related musical groups.  This archive contains photos, newspaper clippings, documents, letters, and related ephemera complied by Mr. Clark that document the Wenham Community Band  for over 25 years.

Through the generous support of the Clark family and the Wenham Community Band, this archive will soon be brought to life in an online gallery.

The Rare Books Collection has 300+ includes Children’s books and magazines, school primers and pre-1900 volumes of varied genre.

The Archives has extensive manuscript material on Wenham history. The museum also has correspondence from the Civil War, WWII, and Vietnam, account records, diaries, deeds, and legal documents.

Maps of Essex County with emphasis on Wenham and its surrounds.

Posters, postcards, valentines and holiday cards, etc.

Benjamin Howe Conant (1843–1921) took more than 4,000 photographs of children, families, homes, and businesses from 1890 to 1918. These superb images depict people, places and events in the Wenham area over a 30-year period.  A limited selection of Conant Photographs may be browsed online here.

The museum also collects ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, tintypes, as well as early photocards, photo postcards, and prints of various sizes. The museum also maintains a small collection of photography equipment.