Wheaton Archives & Special Collections

09/07/2026

09/04/2026

Happy Labor Day weekend from the Wheaton Archives & Special Collections!

For many Americans, Labor Day now means barbecues, shopping, and end-of-summer vacations. But the holiday began in the late 1800s through the efforts of the American labor movement to publicize the work of labor unions and celebrate American workers.

In honor of that history, we’re sharing a collage of rare items from our National Christian Association Collection (SC-29) that document some of the many debates and discussions surrounding the labor movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Founded in 1868, the National Christian Association was dedicated to organizing Christian opposition to secret societies. As part of that work, the NCA collected research files on a wide range of American organizations, from the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor to the Boy Scouts of America and the Kiwanis Club.

Visit the Reading Room at Wheaton Archives & Special Collections to explore more from the files of the NCA and browse the online guide to the collection at: https://archives.wheaton.edu/repositories/5/resources/1026

08/27/2026

As students start their first week of classes, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections looks back at over a century of classroom adventures at Wheaton - from alfresco painting and rhythm gymnastics to geological encounters and electrical experiments. Here's to another great year!

08/21/2026

Earlier this August, archivist Robert (Bob) Shuster retired from Wheaton College after 51 years. From the first days of the Billy Graham Center Archives in 1975, Bob has built, guided, and championed the Archives as a major research collection documenting evangelical global missions and evangelism. This month on the new From the Vault blog post, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections features an interview with Bob reflecting on his past five decades of work. Read more at: https://fromthevault.wheaton.edu/2026/08/20/bob-shuster-reflects-on-50-years-of-the-evangelism-mission-archives/

Photograph: Bob Shuster processing correspondence and other materials for Collection 701: Olive Fleming Liefeld Papers, 2017.

08/13/2026

The Manuscripts Reading Room and Special Collections will be closed Friday, August 14th, for staff in-service. Regular hours will resume on Monday, August 17th.

08/11/2026

A recent look through unprocessed records documenting TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission)'s early-20th century work in Venezuela offered an unexpected tour through the history of paper fastening. Across materials dating from the 1900s through the 1950s, documents were held together with everything from straight pins and string to brass fasteners and staples.

Archivists often remove or replace metal fasteners to protect records from rust and damage, but these everyday objects also have stories to tell, revealing a small but fascinating glimpse into the material history of recordkeeping.

08/04/2026

We're hiring! Wheaton Archives & Special Collections is seeking a full-time Processing Archivist. Join us in collecting, preserving, and making accessible Wheaton College’s institutional archives and special collections. Learn more and apply at: https://shorturl.at/hfyHP

07/29/2026

This month, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections received an exciting new donation of papers related to Owen Lovejoy, abolitionist, pastor, trustee of the Illinois Institute and Wheaton College, and later U.S. congressman. Dating from 1841 to 1854, the collection includes thirty-four sermons, an address, and notes documenting Lovejoy’s ministry in Princeton, Illinois, before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Visit the Manuscripts Reading Room at Wheaton College to explore these sermons and other Lovejoy materials in the Archives!

07/18/2026

The Great Depression touched every corner of American life, including churches, missionaries, evangelists, and other ministries. This month on From the Vault, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections highlights a few items from our records that reveal how missionaries and evangelists responded to the economic hardships and challenges of the Depression era. Read more at: https://fromthevault.wheaton.edu/2026/07/18/a-few-voices-from-the-great-depression/

07/05/2026

This week, for the last of our series celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States, we're featuring the special "76" flag and banner flown by Wheaton College during America's bicentennial in 1976.

Throughout the year, the College and study body marked the occasion with lectures, debates, and music, along with participating in other community events with the Wheaton City Bicentennial Commission. Starting in June, Blanchard Tower was also illuminated in red, white, and blue, and on July 4 the College joined communities across the country in a nationwide bell-ringing ceremony.

The years-long lead-up to the 1976 bicentennial sparked renewed public interest in American history, providing a significant boost to museums and historical societies nationwide. That renewed interest in history also helped shape plans for Wheaton's Billy Graham Museum, which opened in 1980.