The Ames Historical Society has found new space at its existing headquarters in downtown Ames. The center archives and maintains different historical aspects of the city.

“We didn’t have a dedicated public display area earlier. Our gallery consisted of a walkway and our computer desks. Now we have a public display area and a distinct work area.” said Alex Fejfar, administrative assistant for the Ames Historical Society.

He added that the archive space has more than doubled with this expansion, which makes it possible to have a lot more archival material on-site.

The recent expansion was made possible by donations.

“It’s been in the plans since we purchased the building. We have been trying to have the whole building for us. We are at the halfway point with the remodeling,” Fejfar said.

The Ames Historical Society has archived many years of editions of the Ames Tribune newspapers and photographs. The publication still retains ownership but the archives are preserved by the Ames Historical Society.

Curator Dennis Wendell said digitization of all the editions and photographs is currently underway. Some of the photos negatives had to be salvaged as they had deteriorated.

The Ames Historical Society also maintains archives pertaining to the city, including city council and planning records and has a one-room schoolhouse from the 1960s.

Fejfar said students can become part of the Ames Historical Society by visiting it or volunteering to input data, scan images or attend the reception desk. The center’s frequent visitors include history enthusiasts and people looking for the history of their residences, families and businesses.

According to its website, the organization is a non-profit that started in 1980 as the Ames Heritage Association.

Founded by Farwell T. Brown, an Ames historian, the society funded by memberships, donations and endowments. The center operates on a staff of less than 10 people and has about the same number of volunteers. The headquarters moved to its present location in 2007.

Currently, the center houses its archives in more than 10 places across the town. For example, some of the Ames Tribune bound volumes are stored in the basement of U.S. Bank in Campustown.

The organization currently has a number of activities to cultivate and sustain interest in the history of Ames including hosting educational tours and conducting presentations.

Fejfar said that while every county has a historical center, Story County has an alliance of several centers. Ames Historical Society is part of the alliance and allows the center to focus on Ames itself.

Iowa State University also maintains its archival collection. Fejfar said the center does not necessarily work along with the university archives. However, they do have some overlapping areas of operations. For example, a photograph or item related to the university is returned to the university archives and vice-versa.

“A college town like this has a lot of turnover. Stuff can get lost here,” Fejfar said. “Every four years, we have a new group of people moving in. This is important for not forgetting any of it.”