Donations:

The Society is a registered Charitable Organization and will give tax receipts for donations - which are normally of two types:

• Financial: Like most charitable organizations and Historical Societies, we are always in need of funds. If you are thinking of making a donation and would like to discuss it further, please contact the Society. We will be more than happy to respond!
  
  
• Documents: By formal agreement between the Town of Oakville and the Society, the Society is the main collector of historical documents and photos concerning the history of the Town of Oakville and its founding families. We can only collect
  Artifact:
  • noun - a functional or decorative man-made object.

  - AskOxford.com
  
  artifacts which can be used to furnish the Thomas House. The Town of Oakville (Erchless Museum) collects all other artifacts, but only
  Archive:
  noun - a collection of historical documents or records.
  

  - AskOxford.com
  archival material concerning the Erchless Estate and the Chisholm family. We know how confusing this can seem. Confused / Concerned? By all means contact us!
  

Our collection is entirely dependant on donations from the public. There are many horror stories about Granny’s diary and photos of Oakville that were thrown out because no one wanted them. Look no further – WE want them!

For research purposes, we prefer originals but will happily accept appropriate copies. We are most interested in the following items:

• Photos - including prints, negatives, slides and movies concerning the history of The Town of Oakville;
  


• Documents - including letters, wills, deeds, family histories and just about anything else about the Town and its early families; and
  


• Books - please see the section on our Collection. If you have something you think might be of interest, please contact us. They don’t have to be old;

but we'd love to see anything you think might be of interest. Your potential donation will be referred to our accession committee. It will likely be of interest, but if for any reason your donation is not appropriate for our collection, we will certainly advise you of the reasons, which may in turn suggest other possible interested parties.

For background, recent donations to our collection include:
- Dr. John Urquhart's pharmacopoeia, signed and dated 1826. Dr Urquhart practised in Oakville in the mid 1800s and built his Medical Hall on Lakeshore Road in 1835. It still stands at 182 Lakeshore Road East.
- A collection of deeds from 1840 to 1950;
- School group photos; and
- Documents pertaining to the history of the harbour.