Museum Collections
The Museum of Local History began in 1994 with the collections from two historical groups whose history spanned over 100 years, Mission Peak Heritage Foundation and Washington Township Historical Society. Since this time the Museum has acquired many other valuable collections. Samples of our collections include the following:
Photo Collections
The Museum has thousands of original and scanned images of historical photographs from several collections. Come to the museum to research and request images. Attached is our Image Use Policy with associated charges.
- City of Fremont Collection — This collection has photographs of the beginning of Fremont from incorporation through the growth years, 1955-1975.
Museum Objects/Artifacts
Our collections are much larger than what can be displayed in the museum. We have many unusual one-of-a-kind artifacts from the 1860s through 2000. Occasionally we will display or post items from the various collections.
- Gomes Family Collection
Video Collections
The museum has a large collection of oral histories, audio and video taped. Below is a sample from our collection. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for updates: Historical Society of Fremont, Newark and Union City.
View some examples from our video collection.
Digital Archives
California Audiovisual Preservation Project (CAVPP) Works with Museum
In February 2016, we submitted 69 audio tapes and one movie to be digitized and published online through the California Audiovisual Preservation Project. With the help of several volunteers, Patricia Schaffarczyk completed the process of previewing and writing short summaries for the tapes, many which have been sitting in our archival storage since the 1970s. View or listen at archive.org. You will see the titles of the original talks and interviews. The quality is not always the best, but you may recognize the names of some of the “old timers.” Many of the tapes were recorded and collected by two of our most prominent historians, Dr. Robert Fisher and Philip Holmes. For a quality sample, listen to Raymond Copeland or Margaret Overacker, as they tell stories of days gone by. Enjoy!
