Research Library and Collections

In support of its mission to connect diverse communities and advance social equity, the Museum collects, stores, preserves, and shares an historic collection related to the region’s cultural heritage.  

The collection includes thousands of artifacts, primary source documents, photographs, and ephemera, each contributing authentic components to the personal stories and experiences of all community members, whether recently settled or with generations-deep roots. 

Explore SSM collections online↗︎ (opens in a new tab)

The Museum is deeply committed to facilitating discovery and exploration of the rich and diverse stories held within its collection, especially those long unrecognized and/or underrepresented in traditional community narratives. 

Items in the collection date from the early 18th to the mid-19th centuries and focus on a six-mile radius around the actual spring from which the neighborhood derives its name. This includes the villages of Brookeville, Mechanicsville (Olney), Spencerville, Brinklow, and Sunshine, as well as Sandy Spring.