The Monroe Women’s History Project is a collaboration between University of Michigan graduate student, Amanda Healy, and the Monroe County Museum. This collaboration aims to develop archival holdings, public programming, and educational resources on the history of women in Monroe. Inspired by the literary contributions of one of Monroe’s most famous residents, Elizabeth Bacon Custer, the widow of General George Armstrong Custer whose public relations work and bestselling memoirs both influenced and offer a window into the history of the American West, this project will focus particularly on women’s literary contributions. This project aims to again in the fulfillment of museum goals of serving as a vibrant community and scholarly resource by developing archival holdings and expanding programming.
Elizabeth Custer Archival Holdings
The MWHP has augmented archival holding Elizabeth Custer collections and create a new collection dedicated to women writers of Monroe, resources which will be used to produce exhibits and programs that offer new insight into the life and work influential women in Monroe’s history. The resources collected and developed for this project will serve as a resource for future generations of Monroe County residents, as well as the general public and interested scholars.
World War II Letters
The Monroe County Museum has over 200 letters written by Servicemen and women, Army medics, and civilians during World War II. These letters were donated as part of the Monroe County’s One Book, One Community program and provide a glimpse into the lives of Americans from 1941-1945.
Photography Collection (1890-1910s)
The Monroe County Museum has a large collection of glass-plate negatives, taken in Monroe during the late 1800s to the early 1900s.