The Michigan City Historical Society regularly considers new donations of artifacts that help us tell the stories of local people, places, and events. Our collection contains a wide variety of items connected to Michigan City, Indiana.

In addition to general local history, we also welcome artifacts related to lighthouse keeping and Lake Michigan’s maritime heritage, including nautical-themed items that help interpret the region’s connection to the water.

• If you’re interested in donating an artifact, please submit the form below with a description of the item (or items) you’d like to donate.

• We will assess whether your object is a good fit for our collection. Please know that we do not accept all items that are offered to us due to space limitations. Items may be displayed in the museum or cataloged in the archives for research purposes.

• The process of filling out a deed of gift takes only a few minutes, but we love to document any stories connected to your donation.

• We are unable to provide appraisals or assign a monetary value to donations.

• Sorry, we do not accept items on loan.

• Donations can only be accepted in person, Monday through Friday. We cannot accept donations on weekends, except under specific circumstances and by appointment only. Please contact us in advance before bringing in any item for donation.
  

• Our mailing address is:
  Michigan City Historical Society
  P.O. Box 512
  Michigan City, IN 46361
  
  We cannot receive mail at our physical address. All mail must be sent to our P.O. Box.

The Michigan City Historical Society is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, and your contribution may qualify as a deductible item on your income tax return. If you plan to claim a deduction, please note that donors are responsible for determining the fair market value of their donated items, as the IRS does not permit the museum to provide appraisals.

Do you have interesting historical photographs of Michigan City that you’re not quite ready to part with? Consider making a digital donation! We will make free high-resolution scans and return the original photographs to you. Digital copies can be a great resource for research purposes! If you already have scans of your photographs and would like to share them, please send them to contact@mchistorical.org.