Since 1999 Talbot Historical Society has been creating a computerized catalog of its collections using Past Perfect Museum software. This allows staff and our visitors to search our collection by name, date or subject. Now we are happy to announce that a portion of our collection is available online for research! Click the link to get started: Talbot Historical Society PastPerfect. Thank you to our sponsors, Marty and Maura Bollinger and Queenstown Bank, for making this long awaited goal a reality. Special thanks to Cathy Valliant Hill for her tremendous efforts to begin the digitization process in 2018. We are grateful to both Mrs. Hill and Patti Rockwell for their continued efforts to digitize our entire collection.
Please be aware that we do not have genealogical records. Once you have identified family members, objects in our archive and photographic collection may help you flesh out your ancestry. Census records and other genealogical data are kept at the Talbot County Free Library. We can show you how to do your own research by appointment. Fees may be associated with this service. Please e-mail or call 410-822-1287 to make an appointment.
Artifacts
New Acquisition – Weathervane from Bullen’s Chance Farm (Trappe, MD), circa 1900
The object collection consists of approximately 10,000 artifacts representing Talbot County’s past. The major groupings are decorative arts and furnishings, textiles, paintings, prints and artwork by local artists, personal and business papers, toys, and domestic equipment. Approximately 15% of the collection is currently on display in the museum and historic houses.
Photographic Materials
By far the largest and most outstanding component of Talbot Historical Society’s collection is the photograph collection. It is the most important photographic record of life on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in a public collection. It is primarily the work of three local professional photographers, H. Robins Hollyday, Laird Wise, and C.C. Harris, whose combined work presents a thorough documentation of life in our region from c.1870 to c. 1950. There are in excess of 100,000 negatives, prints and slides in the photograph collection.
Library
Some of the books and files available for research in the Hill Research Center.
In the Hill Research Center we have a collection of books, magazines, and files related to Talbot County, its history, and its people. This non-circulating collection is comprised of over 2,000 items.