Collections

The Luther College Archives maintains the institutional history of Luther College as well as historical information about Decorah, Norwegian-American history, and Lutheranism in the United States. The collection contains over 2,000 linear feet of institutional records and manuscripts dating from the late 18th century through the present. The institutional records include collections of administrative files, blueprints, correspondence, presidential papers, publications, and records of student organizations, as well as a sizable number of historical photographs, films, sound recordings, and memorabilia. The Archives also maintains material related to the Norwegian Synod, the founding religious body of Luther College, and personal manuscripts of Luther College faculty, alumni, students, and supporters. These collections include congregational records, correspondence, diaries, photographs, research files, scrapbooks, sermons, and sketches. Together, these collections provide a rich view of campus life and the impact of the Luther College community on the wider world.

The College Archives supports the work of faculty, staff, students, and researchers. We welcome inquiries and opportunities to collaborate across campus and in the community. For questions or to schedule a research appointment in the Reading Room, please contact the college archivist.

The Luther College Anthropology Program manages three collections of material culture: archaeological, ethnographic, and numismatic. The anthropology collections are supported in part by an endowed fund established for the purpose of managing and maintaining a material culture resource for the Luther College community, for education outreach services for the community at large, and for use by outside professionals and students engaged in scholarly research.

The Anthropology Collections are available for viewing via the online catalog. For informational requests, research access, viewing of collections, or classroom visit, contact the anthropology collections and lab manager.

Archaeology Collections

The Archaeological Collections consist of over 50,000 cataloged lots, representing close to 1 million objects and over 300 historic and prehistoric sites. The majority of collections originate from locations in Northeast Iowa, particularly Allamakee, Winneshiek, Clayton, Fayette, and Jones counties. Our archaeological collections are focused on the prehistoric and historic peoples of Northeast Iowa and detail over 8,000 years of human history in the Upper Midwest. First started in 1969 with the acquisition of the Gavin Sampson Collection, the archaeological collections have been augmented over the last 40 years through donation and field research.

Ethnographic Collections

These materials include material culture from Alaska Inuit, South African Zulu, and Asian and Native American materials donated to the college in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Also available for viewing are more recent acquisitions, including an extensive collection of Hmong textiles from the 1970s–1990s; and an extensive archival collection on the Northeast Iowa Refugee Resettlement program that includes a variety of organizational documents, newspaper articles, ESL training materials, and other references.

Numismatic Collections

The Numismatic Collections include historic and international currency, historic stamps, as well as unique tokens, medals, and other small collectibles donated to the college in the late 19th and 20th centuries

Over 2,300 items comprise the Luther College Fine Arts Collection, anchored by extensive holdings representing the works of Herbjørn Gausta, Marguerite Wildenhain, and Gerhard Marcks. This collection includes outdoor sculptures, professional works in diverse media by Luther College faculty and alumni, and an increasingly diverse collection of regionally notable artists. Nearly one-third of the collection is on circulating display throughout the campus in public spaces, faculty and staff offices, and through student curated gallery shows. Management of the collection is supported, in part, by two endowments (for support and acquisitions respectively).

For informational requests, research access, viewing of collections, or classroom visit, contact the curator of the Fine Arts Collection.

Learn More About the Fine Arts Collection

Housed in the Valders Hall of Science, the Hoslett collections include the Alois F. Kovarik Memorial Plant Collection, the P. B. Peabody-Frances C. Bordner Memorial Bird Egg and Nest Collection, over 1,000 plant specimens, over 5,000 vertebrate specimens, and over 6,000 invertebrate specimens.

Support of the Hoslett Museum and its programs is provided in part by the Sherman A. Hoslett Memorial Endowment Fund (established in 1972) and by the Endowed Fund for the Luther College Natural History Collections (established 1999).

Several thousand rock, mineral and fossil specimens are contained within the geological collection. The core collection was originally part of the Norwegian-American Museum, returned to the college in 1972. Other notable specimens include the Ellison Orr collection of fossils; rocks and minerals donated by potter Marguerite Wildenhain; the Wallace Skarshaug fossil collection; specimens donated by Jean Young; and a collection of Cold Water Cave photos by Jerry Grier. Luther College is also the current home of a life-sized model of the marine eurypterid Pentecopterus decorahensis, an ancient sea scorpion whose remains were discovered in the sediments of the Decorah Impact Structure. The model is on display in Valders Hall of Science outside the Hoslett Museum of Natural History.