A local museum or local history museum is a type of museum that shows the historical development of a place/region ( local history ) using exhibits. These museums usually maintain a collection of historic three-dimensional objects which are exhibited in displays. Such museums are often small in nature and generally have a low budget for their running costs. As such, many of the collections are compiled, cataloged, and interpreted by amateur historians as well as professionals.
7-520: Bruton Museum is a small local museum in Bruton , Somerset , England. The museum is housed in the Dovecote Building, in the towns High Street. The building also contains a tourist information office . The Bruton Museum Society was formed in 1989 and involved the community and local schools in the development of the collection of local artefacts. It was initially housed in the basement of
14-401: A bank or a railroad depot. Many local museums are also open-air museums in which several historical buildings from the area have been collected in some museum villages and rebuilt in a new location. In some cases the character of the local history museum is superimposed with the representation of a famous or well-known person from the area, or focuses on a single branch of the economy that
21-401: A historically significant or thematically typical building; it is often a former public building such as a school building, a former courthouse, or city/town hall since the structure, which was already owned by the municipality and can continue its use as a in the public realm as a museum. Other times museums are located in repurposed commercial buildings that had significance for the area such as
28-593: The Co-Op and then in a disused Coach House owned by the National Westminster Bank . The museum moved to its current location in 1999 after it was jointly purchased by South Somerset District Council and Bruton Town Council. The time spent in the town by John Steinbeck is commemorated in the museum. They have also organised exhibitions at King's School including one in 2008 of the work of Ernst Blensdorf . In 2010 an anonymous donor agreed to pay
35-410: The local government or receive funding from them in some way. However, most local history museums are usually self-funded. These museums can also run as independent organizations or they can managed by an accompanying local historical society which also will maintain an archive of local records in addition to the museum's three-dimensional object collection. Local history museums are frequently housed in
42-502: The rent on the building, removing earlier doubts about the future viability of the museum. " Bruton Museum, registered charity no. 1008144 " . Charity Commission for England and Wales . Local museum These museums can cover a governmental defined unit such as a town , city , county , or parish or they can cover an area defined within the museum's mission. In the United States while some museums may be part of
49-404: Was or is particularly formative for the region. Local history museums offer the interpretation of the everyday lives of ordinary people and the unique histories that locale may offer. These museums also offer a more in-depth look into the details of how national and international events affected the locale represented by the museum. In Germany, a specific type of local museum is a Heimatmuseum ,
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