Museum archives include records of original donor William Behringer; of the museum’s first curator archaeologist Ellis Crawford; from state, regional, county and municipal political entities, the Corps of Engineers; of river and steamboat, natural history, Civil War, Slavery, industry, arts and crafts, folk, for the visual and performing arts, artifacts and collections; many bound volumes, periodicals, magazines; in vertical file drawers newspaper, document and journal clippings or copies thereof and more; museum journals, guides and flyers including the BCM News/Journal (1980-87), Guide to Programs (1980-87) and Artifacts (1991 to the present); and including museum financial records, staff reports, calendars and board minutes.
Archival categories include but are not limited to:
- Journals, maps, data per the travels and collections of William Behringer
- The maps, documents and journals business records, writings per curator Ellis Crawford
- Navigation charts, maps documents, steamboat registries, journals, financial records often overlapping or supplementing those of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer River men and other collections, museums and archives per river and steamboat history
- Archives, documents, journals financial records, construction drawings per local business and industry
- Maps and documents per the Civil War and the Civil War batteries in Devou Park
- Records per Devou Park and the municipal park system
- City commission, departmental journals, records, annual reports and maps per subdivision, suburban town and city developments (original documents of the subdivision of Forest Hills, etc.)
- Documentation per specimens and collections per prehistory and historical era (“paleo,” archaeological, American Indian, Civil War, household, textiles, industry)
The Museum uses vertical file cabinets and map drawers; acid free containers and other materials and strategies for the preservation of documents and collections.