In Indiana: one thing that you might want to know regarding old county records: There is a Public Records Commission, an agent of the State government, who, since it was originated, has made policy regarding the records kept by county officials - i.e. how long they are kept, what is kept and where it is kept. County officials apply once a year to destroy records. There is a group of officials at the county level who meet once a year to read and look at the official applications to destroy. That group either approves or denies the destruction. The applications are then sent to the state and the state approves or denies depending on the law. A representative of the local historical society is on the county committee and the society is first in line to get possession of the records should they be approved to be destroyed. The historical society then must decided whether or not the materials are worthy of retaining. The society has developed a list of records that have historical value and must be preserved. Materials that the local historical society does not want... are then supposed to be destroyed. In Kosciusko County the records that are destroyed are now shredded and recycled. The records used to go to a big hole in the ground... on county property and bounded by a big high fence! In most cases, records that were not accepted by the historical society were financial in nature and of not particular value as historic. Also...the same data can be found in record books in other places. Please keep in mind also that once the record books are out of the county offices they are no longer considered "official" ... in other words, data could be changed and therefore they are not considered strictly "official". Several years ago, the Kos. Co. Hist. Soc. had a series of books called Tax Duplicates microfilmed. The books were destroyed and at least two copies of the microfilm was made. That microfilm is available at the Jail museum. The same will be true... in time.... with a series of books that is at the Jail now... called Tax Assessment books. There are literally hundreds of these volumes.... and they are in pretty bad shape... the paper is very acidic... and is virtually going to dust before our eyes... It is likely that the books will be destroyed after the microfilming is completed and quality verified. In order for the microfilming to be completed in a timely manner, the bindings will have to be cut off... thus leaving - loose papers... I have personally bemoaned the fact that records in some cases have to be destroyed... but since the county government strives to be efficient, and does not provide a high and dry place for the records to be maintained past a certain time limit, there will always be some records that must be destroyed. All one has to do is go into the basement record storage area in our local justice building .... and you will quickly realize that they are keeping as much as they possibly can... and only asking to destroy what is realistically not of value any more! That storage room is very well organized, but full to capacity! We have been most fortunate in this county... our officials seem to recognize that records are important for various reasons, one of which is genealogical research. They have been most willing to give the historical society first chance at everything, and seem to respect our guidelines as well. The old records that I would like to see everyone keep their eyes open for, are records of old businesses that provide some historic perspective on the olden times. Historical Societies are more reluctant to accept these records... and they are equally as valuable from a historic standpoint. ... for example, old ledgers of day to day activities in "Mom & Pop" businesses... the candy stores, the general stores, the barber shops, the newsstands.... they are ALL very relevant ... and can provide a lot of valuable historic information. In addition.... be sure to watch for old diaries.... lots of good info... even though you may not know the family... with the internet now... perhaps you could even get the document back into the hands of a grateful family member... Old scrapbooks ... give a perspective on the time... and often reveal what was "newsworthy" at the time... Let people know that these things are no longer considered "worthless"... and that they can be treasured... by other than family... for various reasons. Old documents...letters, ... these things are OFTEN destroyed by well-meaning family members .... and ... in many cases could be historically valuable... or.... at least desired by an interested person in the community.... In many cases... it's a case of "educating" the people... letting them know that what they may think is worthless... holds great value to people who are researching the past... Respectfully submitted marge priser [email protected]