Interested in donating an item?
The museum is actively collecting items for our collection related to Frankfort and Franklin County. Expand any of the menus below to learn more about our collection policy or the donation process.

To donate an item:
Print out and complete the Temporary Custody form, found here.
Make sure to provide a detailed list for all items in the donation, including any relevant donor information or connection to Frankfort and Franklin County. The more detail you can provide the better!

Bring the form and the item(s) to the museum during our regular hours and leave them with the front desk staff, who will take your form and your material.
The museum’s collections committee will meet to discuss the donation, and will notify you if the materials were accepted into the collection.

If they were, great! You’ll receive additional paperwork and an acknowledgement in the mail. If not, staff will request you return to the museum to retrieve your item(s). You also have the option on the form to list your item(s) as an “unconditional donation,” which means the museum can dispose of the unaccepted material as the staff sees fit—either through recycling, selling, or donating. Any profits from item sales will placed into the museum’s general fund.

Current Collecting Areas:
• Original artwork
• Bourbon/Distilleries
• Clothing and textiles
• Family papers and records
• Historical business records, artifacts, memorabilia
• Maps of Frankfort/Franklin County
• Photographs and portraits

Highly-desired materials:
• Pre-1860 items
• Materials from or documenting underrepresented communities, including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Asian American, LBGTQ+
• Photographs of Frankfort that include identification of individuals, sites, events, dates etc.
• COVID-19/pandemic items related to Frankfort Waterways related items (Kentucky River, Elkhorn Creek, Benson Creek, KSU Aquaculture, Mussel Conservation)

Materials not accepted:
• Live specimens
• Dangerous materials

For more information on donations, or to inquire about loaning an item to the museum, please contact the Collection’s Manager: Rebecca Tippett (citymuseum@frankfort.ky.gov)