Museum of History and Science.

The commission is a corporate body responsible for the establishment, maintenance, conduct, operation, and continued review of the museum. Other duties of the commission include appointing the museum director, specifying his/her duties and salary, and submitting the budget to the city and county governments. Membership of the commission is approved by the Louisville mayor and the Jefferson County county judge/executive.

From the description of Citizens Advisory Commission, 1976-1982. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 191916316

The Museum of History and Science moved to the building that once housed the Carter Dry Goods Company in 1977. The museum was financed from government grants, foundation grants, private and public donations, and a bond issue. Specimens and exhibits from the Museum of Natural History and Science of the Louisville Free Public Library were relocated to the new museum.

From the description of Scrapbook, 1976-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 191916312

One plan (1937) shows the layout and architectural details of the Museum when it was housed in the Louisville Free Public Library basement. The other plans, by the firm Louis and Henry, Incorporated, illustrate the layout of the new museum including details of the basement, first floor, third floor, elevators, roof, and a parking lot plan. Landscaping details of Main Street and the site of Fort Nelson, are included, as is a topographic survey. The plan and details of the Ecosphere are among the blueprints.

From the description of Blueprints, 1937-1978 (bulk 1976-1977). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 191916327

Before coming to the Louisville museum, Matilda Wells Andrews worked at the Smithsonian Institution for the National Museum Act program. Andrew, a graduate of Randolph-Macon Women's College with a degree in history and art history, also studied at the University of Reading in England. She became director of the Louisville Museum of History and Science in 1980.

From the description of Maltida Wells Andrews, 1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 191916300

A museum of natural history has existed in Louisville since 1833, when the Louisville Museum, under the direction of J. R. Lambdin, was founded, but did not survive. The Public Library of Kentucky opened to the public in 1872 with a collection of 8,000 volumes. In that year the library trustees purchased the Troost Collection of Minerals. The library was beset by financial difficulties, and was taken over by the Polytechnic Society of Kentucky. In 1908, the name of the society was changed to the Louisville Public Library, which later consolidated with the Louisville Free Public Library.

The collection of natural history objects remained with the library, and after the library moved to 4th and York Streets, was housed in the basement. Objects included stuffed birds, birds eggs, a mummy, Eygptian artifacts, Indian relics, animal trophies, weapons, butterfly collections, weapons, stuffed mammals and reptiles, the Troost mineral collection, other rocks and minerals, and curios of many kinds.

During the 1937 flood, the museum was heavily damaged. The curator, Lucien Beckner, enlisted Works Progress Administration workers and funds to salvage the collection and a massive restoration involving cleaning, repairing, reclassifying and cataloguing items ensued. The museum remained in the basement of the library until 1949, when it was transferred into the Monsarrat School building at 5th and York Streets.

Plans to build a new museum were often discussed, but funds and a location were not available until 1976. At that time the Carter Dry Goods Building was renovated and the new Museum of History and Science was opened in 1977. Collections from the old museum were relocated. Curators of the museum were: Susie Shane, Attendant (1905 - 1942); Lucien Beckner (1933 - 1959); Carlisle D. Chamberlain (1959 - 1969); Ivey Cousins, Ass. Curator (1962 - 1969) and Curator (1969 - 1972), E. Duncan Taylor (1972 - 1975); and Directors Lawrence Brown (1976 - 1979), and Matilda Wells Andrews (1980).

From the description of Information File, 1833-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 191916318

The collector of this extensive mineral collection, Gerard Troost, was a Dutch minerologist who emigrated to the United States early in the nineteenth century. He eventually became the state geologist of Tennessee. In 1827, he opened a commercial business, the Nashville Natural History Museum, which displayed thousands of rocks, minerals, stuffed birds, reptiles, and natural history specimens, but the museum closed after five years of operation. Troost died in 1850 of cholera. For years his estate remained unsettled, but in 1872, Troost's collection of 13,582 minerals was sold to the Louisville Public Library for $18,500.

From the description of Troost Catalogue. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 191916334