The Historical Society of Cheshire County adheres to the American Alliance of Museums’ Core Standards for Museums:

Public Trust and Accountability
We endeavor to be good stewards of our resources held in the public trust.
We strive to be good neighbors within southwest New Hampshire.
We strive to be inclusive and offer opportunities for diverse voices and participation.
We assert our public service role and place education at the center of that role.
We are committed to providing the public with access to the museum and our resources.
We are committed to public accountability and are transparent in our operations.
We comply with local, state, and federal laws, codes, and regulations applicable to its facilities, operations, and administration.

Mission and Planning
We have a clear understanding of our mission and communicate why it exists and who benefits as a result of our efforts.
We integrate all aspects of our operations, ensuring they are aligned and focused on meeting our mission.
We ensure that our governing authority and staff think and act strategically to acquire, develop, and allocate resources to advance the mission of the Historical Society.
We engage in ongoing and reflective institutional planning that includes involvement of its audiences and community.
We establish measures of success and use them to evaluate and adjust our activities.

Leadership and Organizational Structure
We develop governance, staff and volunteer structures and processes that effectively advance the museum’s mission.
We have a clear and shared understanding of their roles and responsibilities; they legally, ethically, and effectively carry out their responsibilities.
We ensure that our composition, qualifications, and diversity as leadership, staff, and volunteers enable us to carry out the museum’s mission and goals.
We have a clear and formal division of responsibilities between the governing authority and any group that supports us, whether separately incorporated or operating within the Historical Society.

Collections Stewardship
We exhibit and use collections that are appropriate to our mission.
We legally, ethically, and effectively manage, document, care for, and use the collections.
We conduct our collections-related research according to appropriate scholarly standards.
We strategically plan for the use and development of our collections.
We are guided by our mission to provide public access to our collections while ensuring their preservation.

Education and Interpretation
We develop educational goals, philosophy, and messages, and demonstrate that our activities are in alignment with them and our mission.
We understand the characteristics and needs of our existing and potential audiences and use this understanding to ensure that all voices are represented.
We base our interpretive content on appropriate research.
We conduct our research using primary materials according to scholarly standards.
We use techniques, technologies, and methods appropriate to our educational goals, content, audiences, and resources.
We present accurate and appropriate content for our audience.
We demonstrate consistent high quality in our interpretive activities.
We assess the effectiveness of our interpretive activities and use those results to plan and improve our activities.

Financial Stability
We legally, ethically, and responsibly acquire, manage, and allocate our financial resources in a way that advances our mission.
We operate in a fiscally responsible manner that promotes our long-term sustainability.

Facilities and Risk Management
We allocate space and use our facilities to meet the needs of the collections, audience, and staff.
We take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security of people, our collections and/or objects, and the facilities we own or use.
We have an effective program for the care and long-term maintenance of our facilities.
We ensure that our facilities are clean, well-maintained, and meet the needs of our visitors.
We take appropriate measures to protect ourselves against potential risk and loss.

The Historical Society of Cheshire County was founded in 1927, establishing itself as a distinctive regional institution—the only county-wide historical society in New Hampshire. From its inception, the organization has served the 23 towns of Cheshire County with a straightforward but essential mission: to collect, preserve, and communicate the region’s history.

Over nearly a century, the Society has grown from a modest initiative into one of New Hampshire’s most significant research centers for regional history and genealogy, reflecting the deep commitment of its founders to documenting and safeguarding Cheshire County’s heritage.

Today, the Historical Society operates as a robust regional cultural anchor with four historic buildings located along three properties on Main Street in Keene, NH: a headquarters in its 1870 Ball Mansion; a historic house museum in its 1762 Wyman Tavern; and a community gathering space in its 1839 Bruder House.

With collections exceeding 300,000 items and holdings that include extensive newspapers, maps, photographs, and manuscript groups spanning Cheshire County history, the organization has become an invaluable resource for research and education.

The Society welcomes thousands of visitors each year with its changing exhibitions, public events, school tours, walking tours, and festivals that bring local history to life for diverse audiences.

HSCC Diversity Statement

Adopted by the Board of Trustees, August 17, 2020; revised June 2025

The Historical Society of Cheshire County, in accordance with its mission and values, recognizes a commitment to diversity and inclusion as a priority for this organization and adherence to the principle of equity across our community.  We endorse and support this priority for our employees, volunteers, programming, historic preservation planning, and the community that we serve.

HSCC Land Acknowledgement

Adopted by the Board of Trustees, Oct. 12, 2022

The Historical Society of Cheshire County acknowledges its location within N’dakinna, the ancestral homeland of the Abenaki people along the Kwanitekw (Connecticut) and Ashuelot watersheds. As we stand in the shadow of Mount Monadnock, we recognize, with gratitude, that this land has been cared for by the Abenaki for at least 12,600 years including the Sokoki, Pennacook, and other Wabanaki peoples.

The Historical Society of Cheshire County acknowledges the role that historical organizations like ours have played in the past to marginalize Indigenous history and silence Indigenous voices. The Society offers this statement as a way of affirming its commitment to recognizing and supporting Native history and culture in the Monadnock Region, past, present, and future.