American Heritage Center (AHC)

The American Heritage Center (AHC) is one of the nation’s largest non-governmental public archives. Located at the University of Wyoming, we hold manuscripts, rare books, and modern media and are known by scholars around the world for our collection scope.

We aim to collect, preserve, and share the primary sources of history—as well as rare books—reflecting the written, visual, and audible history of Wyoming, the Rocky Mountain West, and key aspects of the American past. The AHC’s 95,000 cubic feet of holdings include more than 6,000 archival collections, 8 million photographs and negatives, 1 million audio recordings, 350,000 video and film recordings, and 700,000 maps. Collecting emphases include Wyoming and the West, American popular culture, extractive industries, railroad and aviation history, conservation, politics, and journalism.

The AHC also administers Wyoming History Day, and each year we hold the state competition on the University of Wyoming campus. Wyoming History Day is Wyoming’s affiliate of National History Day, the nation’s premier history program for students in grades 6-12. Students research historical topics of their choice and then present their findings and conclusions through imaginative exhibits, dramatic performances, multimedia documentaries, websites, or thought-provoking papers. Those who place at the top of the state competition go on to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

We invite you to support the UW American Heritage Center by giving to the Director’s Excellence Fund, which supports AHC exhibits, outreach, History Day, and collecting. Your gift will support the many ways that we serve our patrons, whether they are a researcher in the Reading Room or a student performing at their first History Day competition.

Digitizing Film Scanner:

In 1958, a young woman won $25,000 on CBS Name That Tune, forever changing her family's fortunes. She and her family always wanted a recording of that success, but the network doesn't keep tape reels from the 1950s. Despite more than 30 years of searching—including hiring a private investigator—the footage remained elusive. That is when the family approached the AHC. The center’s staff located the recording in the AHC’s collections and digitized the film of that 1958 episode, fulfilling the family’s generations-long dream. In gratitude, the family donated $25,000 to the AHC with the hope that the gift would help create similar experiences for other patrons.

It may be surprising to learn that the AHC does not possess a film scanner. When patrons request digital copies of film holdings, the center must send the films to special digitization companies—a process that is time consuming, potentially damaging to the materials, and costly for patrons.

Your gift will help establish a fund that will ultimately enable the AHC to purchase a film scanner of our own as well as support the AHC’s Digitization Lab. This initiative will significantly expand center’s ability to share our moving image collections and help it preserve films longer by reducing the handling of original, aging film.

Any amount helps, whether it's $5 or $500. Make your gift today and support the AHC's mission to expand access to our film holdings!

Union Pacific Railroad:

The Union Pacific Railroad is America’s sweetheart. From a child’s first model train set to their wide-eyed witnessing of these mighty engines rolling across the prairie to adult collectors of railroad knowledge, photographs, and memorabilia, nothing stirs our hearts like trains. As historian Maury Klein wrote, “Of the four major American rail systems today, the Union Pacific alone retains its original name and history. It remains a unique company that has left an indelible imprint on American history.” It’s also about the people who, to this day, carry this passion forward.

Gifts made this Giving Day will be used to support the costs of preserving and caring for our railroad collections—including documents, images, and films—as well as supporting public-facing projects that promote and share this collection material.

Rail aficionados share an important passion and goal—to preserve and share our nation’s history. The American Heritage Center strives to be a reliable source of accurate and in-depth material and information about the American West’s vital railroad history. Thank you for considering supporting this important work!