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The Salvation Army Museum of the West, located on the College for Officer Training (CFOT) at Crestmont campus, holds a rich collection of materials representing the tireless work done by officers in the Western Territory throughout its history, and is now available online.
“It’s exciting to see that the history of God’s work in the Western Territory will now be available for Salvationists to enjoy and utilize in this easy access manner,” said Major Cindy Foley, CFOT director of special services.
When the current CFOT museum was established in 2002, it inherited the territorial archive of Army-related documents, objects and photographs documenting Salvation Army presence in the West since 1882. The materials had been in storage since the college and territorial headquarters moved from San Francisco to Southern California in 1975, until museum staff began scanning and cataloging these materials in 2007.
As part of an initiative to make Museum of the West collections available virtually, Museum Director Sheila Chatterjee and Web Services manager John Docter migrated these records to a fully searchable online database of over 7,000 photos and documents. This resource allows users to research their family members, corps history and major Salvation Army events.
Via a feedback icon just above each image, the museum invites users to submit information that would enrich cataloging, including names of people and locations featured in the photos.
The Museum of the West, with the support of Crestmont Council, has plans to digitize additional high-interest archive materials in order to expand its audience and accessibility. Within the next year, both the Corps History Book and the Western Territory War Cry editions (ca. 1883–1970) will be available online.
Sheila Chatterjee would you e-mqil me where I might send old LP records? I have numerous band and songster from different groups. ISB toCanadian Stqff bands,etc.Thank you Bandsman-Melvin Moore Prescott Corps.