Since its founding, the Columbia County Historical Society has grown considerably with the acquisition of numerous collections objects, four historic properties and the development of an active research library. One hundred years after our founding, CCHS remains true to our original mission of being formed for “benevolent, charitable, literary, and historical purposes, to cultivate friendship among the members and to stimulate interest in the history and geography of Columbia County, and to collect and preserve documents and other data relating to said County.” 

“Plans have been made and partly perfected, to gather a vast amount of historical record material from every part of the county, which will be classified and filed for historical reference. Buried in the records of the county of various towns and churches and local societies is a wealth of historical information now not accessible because it is widely scattered.” – William Wait, Historian, Columbia County Historical Society, 1931

100 Years of Collecting surveys the history of the Columbia County Historical Society. The exhibition includes CCHS Institutional History, featuring early documents and significant artifacts that describe a transition from social club to an organization centered around a coherent, strong cultural focus. Some of the Historical Society’s early acquisitions are on view for the first time in many years; other institutional documents and objects will be on exhibit for the first time. In addition, new acquisitions, old favorites and often overlooked objects will be on display in our recently revitalized gallery spaces.