Collections

About the Collections

The society’s holdings include over 40,000 cubic feet of archival records; more than 250,000 monograph and serial titles, including 19,000 pamphlets, and 9,000 rare book titles; an audiovisual collection of more than 3,000 sound recordings and 900 motion picture films; and a museum collection of 5,000 artifacts, 281 paintings, and 25,000 communion tokens and communion ware.  

Together, these collections document 500 years of religious, political, and cultural history. The collections include Reformation-era texts; papers and artifacts of prominent Presbyterian leaders and missionaries; official records from ecumenical organizations; and vital records from congregations across the country. The society’s collections are significant for the study of religious and civic life in Colonial America, the First and Second Great Awakenings, the American Revolution, westward expansion, mission work across the globe, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement, and other social justice work.

What We Collect

The Presbyterian Historical Society collects records of historic value from congregations, mid councils, and national agencies and provides records management services for PC(USA) entities. In addition, many of the historic documents in our holdings have been donated by individuals and families who lived the history in those records, or by their descendants. In this section, you will find information about our collecting scope, current collecting initiatives, and information about donating personal and family papers to PHS.

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