$11,000 given for photos

The Sweetwater County Museum is $11,000 closer to obtaining New Studio’s collection of photographs.

Museum director Ruth Lauritzen said the museum recently received grants from the Wal-Mart Foundation and the Sweetwater County Historical Society. The Wal-Mart foundation awarded the museum with $1,000 while the historical society provided a $10,000 grant to the museum. The Sweetwater County Historical Society is a branch of the state’s historical society, which Lauritzen said was one of the driving forces in the creation of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum.

This amount adds to $34,000 already collected to purchase the collection. While the museum has roughly $45,000, the purchase price for the collection is listed at $62,000.

Lauritzen said she’s excited to have received the money. The New Studio collection of photographs contains images taken in Rock Springs spanning 1915 to 1996. along with the photographs, antique cameras and backdrops used at the photo studio.

While speaking to the Sweetwater County Commissioners, Lauritzen said the photo collection would need more space for storage and would require a full-time photo archivist to help archive the collection.

Lauritzen said she plans to apply for a $86,000 grant to pay for the archivist’s salary.

The museum has until April to raise the needed funds to purchase the collection.