# A historical society display that shows more than one case can hold

> Historical society display ideas for volunteer-run collections: donated photos, member research and local families on a touchscreen visitors can browse.

Source: https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/historical-society-display · HistoryShowcase · Updated 2026-11-07

Most societies have far more donated photos, letters and member research than their room can show. Put them on a touchscreen as stories, and let visitors tap through families, buildings and events while the originals stay in their folders.

## What is a historical society display?

A historical society display presents a society’s collection, such as donated photographs, documents and members’ research, so visitors can see it during open hours and events. With HistoryShowcase, volunteers turn each item or topic into a story with a year, a summary, photos and scans, and visitors browse it on a touchscreen in the society’s room or at home.

- Made for: historical society volunteers, board members and archivists
- Where it goes: The society’s room, Open houses and annual meetings, The society’s website
- Layouts: Profiles, Photo gallery, Timeline
- Visitors can filter by: Township, Year
- Cost: Free to use. No payment details required.

## The collection is in boxes. The visitors are in the room.

A historical society’s room usually holds a fraction of what members have gathered. Donated albums sit in archival boxes, a volunteer’s research on the old mill lives in a binder, and the display case shows the same few items for years because changing it takes a weekend. Visitors see the case and leave without knowing what else is there.

A historical society display on a touchscreen lets the boxes speak. Scan a photo or document, give it a title, a year and a few sentences about what you know, and it becomes a story visitors can open. Volunteers can add from home, keep an item Private until the facts are checked, and the original goes back in its folder.

## How does a historical society display compare with a tri-fold board or glass case?

| What matters | Tri-fold board or glass case | HistoryShowcase |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How much fits | A handful of items behind glass | Every photo and scan you have described |
| Handling originals | Safe in the case, with one side showing | Scan once; the original goes back in its folder |
| Who can add to it | Whoever builds the next board | Volunteers added by email as editors |
| Finding a family name | Ask the volunteer on duty | Search by name or word |
| Seeing the real object | The actual letter or artifact, up close | A scan or photo on a screen |

## Historical society display ideas

- **Donated photo albums.** One story per album or per photo, with the donor family’s name and what they could tell you about it.
- **Founding families.** Portraits, homestead photos and land documents, gathered into profiles visitors can find by surname.
- **Lost buildings.** The depot, the opera house, the first schoolhouse: photos of places that are gone, each with the year it came down.
- **Members’ research.** Papers volunteers have written over the years, with their sources and the photos they turned up.
- **Community events.** Fires, floods, fairs and parades on a timeline, so visitors can see what happened when.
- **Help us identify.** Photos with unknown faces or places, so visitors who recognize someone can tell a volunteer.

## How to organize a historical society display

Organize around the questions visitors ask most: who lived here, what stood here and what happened. Keep new donations in their own collection so regulars see what changed.

Site: Our Collection

- **Families** (Profiles): One profile per family, with portraits, homes and documents.
- **Places and buildings** (Photo gallery): Streets, farms and buildings, captioned with the year.
- **Events** (Timeline): Floods, fires, fairs and anniversaries in date order.
- **Recent donations** (Photo gallery): New additions, so returning visitors find something new.

Visitors can filter by: Township, Year.

## How do you set up a historical society display?

1. **Start from your donation log.** Put the catalog or donation log in a spreadsheet, one row per item or topic, and import it. If the import looks wrong, undo it and try again.
2. **Scan what people ask about.** Begin with the photos and documents visitors and members bring up most, and add captions in the media library as you go.
3. **Split the work among volunteers.** Add volunteers by email as editors. Each can take a family or a street and keep stories Private until someone checks the facts.

## Where should a historical society display go?

- **The society’s room.** Beside the cases, so visitors can see what isn’t on display.
- **Open houses and annual meetings.** Members browse new additions and point out photos they can help identify.
- **The society’s website.** Link the live site so descendants who live far away can look up their families.

## Historical society display questions

### HistoryShowcase was built for schools. Will it work for a historical society?

Yes. Setup asks for a school name and colors; enter the society’s name and colors instead. You get the same editor, layouts and touchscreen, with nothing changed specially for societies.

### Our volunteers aren’t technical. Can they keep it up?

If they can fill in a form and attach a photo, they can add a story. Changes save as they type, undo and change history are there, and anything marked Private stays off the screen.

### What about photos where nobody knows who’s pictured?

Give them a collection of their own and say so in each summary. When a visitor recognizes a face, a volunteer updates the story.

### Can people browse from home?

Yes. The live site has its own web address, so you can link it from the society’s website or newsletter and descendants can look up their families from anywhere.

## Related

- [Local History Display for Towns](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/local-history-display): Town or county history in one place residents can tap through, from the first settlers to the last centennial.
- [Small Museum Exhibit Ideas](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/small-museum-exhibit-ideas): Ideas for small and volunteer-run museums: more stories in the same floor space, kept up by volunteers.
- [Heritage Display for Communities](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/heritage-display): Families, traditions and the places a community came from, told in stories its own members can add to.
- [Historic Photo Wall for Schools](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/historic-photo-wall): Old classroom, campus and team photos with real captions, plus a place for faces nobody has named yet.

Bring the society’s collection out of the boxes Free to use. No payment details required. Start building, no account needed: https://history-showcase.com/start