Archivist Miguel Ayala Murillo

Collections

The museum houses objects documenting life in the region including tools, books, artwork, maps, and photography. Many of these objects can be seen in the rotating exhibitions in the History Gallery located within the museum. Search objects in the collection (link to CollectiveAccess plugin)

The museum has just completed a sixteen-month project in the collections department to update all of our collection’s protocols with archivist Beatriz Esparragoza. This project focused on reorganizing, processing, and digitizing the Bonita Museum’s collection while at the same time establishing and sustaining a digital repository for the Bonita Museum’s institutional materials. This included rearranging the physical collection, purchasing archival material and furniture, and updating its current facility to reflect the Society of American Archivists (SAA) standards. Our current archivist Miguel Murillo maintains the collection and ‘prop’ gallery. He is available to work with visiting curators to include objects in art and history exhibitions.
Special collections: Audi Lawson, Ric Todd

When you visit, make sure to find these History objects:

• Proctor Valley Monster footprint
• Fossils from the Sweetwater Valley
• The Bonita Badger
• Brands of the Ranchos
• 1880’s kitchen with Bonnie Brae Lemons
• Fran Cornell’s Toy cabinet
• School Days in Bonita
• Desk from the Old Red Barn
• Cowboy Artist of America, Mehl Lawson sculpture

Are you interested in donating an object to the museum?

Below are useful forms when donating to our museum: