Explore Wheaton Archives & Special Collections
Consisting of over 1000 unique collections, materials in Wheaton Archives & Special Collections are arranged by creator and described in individual finding aids. Each finding aid provides an overview of the collection materials, including date range, formats, and topics, as well as a brief biographical sketch of the creator(s). On occasion, these finding aids will provide access to digital surrogates of the materials, but most items from the Archives collections are not available to view online.
Materials in Wheaton Archives & Special Collections are arranged in three distinct record groups.
The College Archives document the history of Wheaton College (1860 to the present) and its predecessor, the Illinois Institute (1853-1859), by collecting its records and publications and by serving as the main repository for official and unofficial permanent records of the College.
Special Collections strives to collect, preserve, and promote materials related to the lives and legacies of significant adherents to the Christian faith, particularly those who have a significant relationship with Wheaton College and/or evangelical Christianity.
The Evangelism & Missions Archives is a major research collection of unpublished materials relating to North American, Protestant, nondenominational evangelism and global missions efforts especially focused on the twentieth century.
View the page on each record group for a general overview of the collections and materials available.
Additional Collections Resources
Rare Book collections have a general description regarding the scope of the collection, but individual book records are only searchable through the Library catalog. See Rare Book Collections for more information on searching for and accessing these materials.
Do you have questions about archives and how to use them? Want to plan the most productive research trip possible?
Click on the icon to read Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research written by Wade Center archivist Laura Schmidt.
For questions about using our finding aids or suggested search strategies, please contact the Archives at 630.752.5910 or archives@wheaton.edu.
Creating a bibliography for sources from Wheaton Archives & Special Collections? For citation suggestions, please see our Citation Guide.
Looking for archival sources not found in Archives & Special Collections?
Trying searching ArchiveGrid, a global catalog dedicated to archival materials, or Social Networks and Archival Contexts (SNAC), a database for individual and organization records held in archival collections.
Looking for specific items or research topics? Search the Archives' database for names, locations, titles, subjects, keywords, and more.
Have you identified items in Wheaton Archives & Special Collections that you would like to access? Follow the link below to learn more about submitting a request for archival material.