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Archive

The FAHC’s archive and museum collections preserve and promote Finnish-American identity and history.  Housed in a climate-controlled environment, the archive has been actively collecting Finnish-American and Finnish materials since it was established in 1932.  The ever-growing collection consists of more than 40,000 items, ranging from works of art by Gallen-Kallela, Sailo and Nelimarkka, to centuries-old Queen Christina Bibles, to modern-day St. Urho’s Day kitsch.  The archive serves as the official repository of Suomi College/Finlandia University, as well as the Suomi Synod, Finnish Congregationalists, Federation of Apostolic Lutherans and the Knights of Kaleva.  The collection also includes records and materials from many other Finnish societal, cooperative and political groups, as well as diaries, letters, photographs and other personal items.

The FAHC is well known for its genealogical materials, including original records and microfilm from Finnish-American churches, societies, and organizations; newspapers and periodicals; personal papers and photographs; and hundreds of microfilmed church records from Finland.

If you have questions, or have materials you would like to donate to the Archive, please contact the archivist at: joanna.chopp@finlandiafoundation.org

Take a look at what we have through the links below.

Genealogy tools and resources Various resources located either in the archive or online for researching family history. Obituaries, Funeral home records, books, calendars, photographs, and other sources of genealogical information.

Archival collections Boxes and folders organized around a theme (for example Music and Musicians), which is indicated by a letter (for example, S-Series). Within the series there are multiple numbered collections (for example, S-2 Finnish Sheet Music collection). Great resources for research on various topics.

Periodicals Publications issued at regular intervals. Includes newspapers, newsletters, magazines, and other items. Some items are in print and others in microfilm format.

Vertical files In comparison to more comprehensive archival collections, vertical files house folders that often contain more limited amounts of information (mostly newspaper clippings and other ephemera). These snapshots might contain information on a single person, a group, an event, a location, or any other topic of interest to Finnish Americans.

Oral Histories Recorded interviews with people in the Copper Country (in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) and northern Minnesota from the 1970s. Approximately 250 hours of transcribed interviews and 150 hours of non-transcribed interviews. Complete interviews and transcripts are available at the Finnish American Historical Archive. Index of names and topics is available online.