Office & Archives

The Hoover Historical Society’s Archives and Office are located at:

2020 Valleydale Rd. Suite 108
Hoover, AL  35244
1.205.739.7316
info@hooverhistoricalsociety.org

Office hours are by appointment only.

The Hoover Historical Society (HHS) is grateful for its interim archive space at the Public Service Center at 2020 Valleydale Road.  Positive factors for preservation include having no windows and a reliable HVAC system for temperature and humidity control. HHS is the official Archive for the City of Hoover.

Our archives consist of several groupings:

  • Historic documents, including letters
  • Books about the history of Hoover and its environs
  • Collections of bound records of various civic organizations in Hoover
  • Collections of related but unbound records
  • Exemplars of items used by previous generations

File cabinets, cantilever shelving, sturdy wooden shelves, box storage shelves, and display cabinets provide storage and/or display. Acid-free storage boxes and/or acid-free papers are important tools for historic preservation.

We initially purchased cantilever shelving (seen in background of photos below) from Patterson-Pope, and its manager, the former Mayor Frank Skinner. In our previous location, the shelving was attached to the walls and could not be moved.

Archivist Elizabeth Wells and Carolyn Kolar were instrumental in unpacking, organizing and shelving our book collection while eagerly awaiting the arrival and assembly of the box storage shelving.

Mayor Skinner donated used—but attractive— box shelving which was declared surplus by one of his clients. Gilbert Douglas III and Arnold Singer transported the shelving components from the Patterson-Pope warehouse to our new location.

The HHS is a 501 C (3) organization and relies totally upon a volunteer staff; the Board wishes to thank (former) Mayor Frank Skinner for his donation and the work of the key Board members—including Bob Kolar, Doug Harkness, Jim Langley and Arnold Singer.

 

 

Jim Langley, Doug Harkness and Bob Kolar

Mayor Skinner and Arnold Singer

Mayor Skinner and Doug Harkness

Topics Contained In Our Archives

Click on the topic below to view a detailed listing of items available.