In 1999, the Mathews Memorial Library and the Mathews County Historical Society, Inc. established a partnership to house their respective collections of archival research materials, memorabilia and books related to Mathews County, the Chesapeake Bay and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Our historical collection contains personal papers, books, genealogies, documents, manuscripts, maps, architectural surveys, photographs and newspaper clippings. These items contain a wealth of information for researchers and casual browsers.

The two collections are housed in the Chesapeake Room and the Mathews Archival Room at the Mathews Memorial Library. The collections are cataloged and can be accessed by the public using the Library online public access catalog.

The Chesapeake Room collection is open to all researchers whenever the library is open. Our trained staff is available to introduce first-time users to the collection and to give limited assistance to researchers.