Allen Heritage Guild Inc

The Allen Heritage Guild (AHG) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1996 as a project of the Leadership Allen Class VII.   The Guild’s mission is to further an understanding and appreciation of local history and heritage by collecting, preserving, interpreting, and exhibiting cultural resources for the education and enrichment of present and future generations. Our motto is “preserving and promoting Allen’s Heritage and spirit”.

Objectives

The Guild’s objectives are:

• Create a sense of community spirit by providing service and implementing projects that create a distinctively positive image of Allen.
• Assure tomorrow’s heritage by recording past, recent and current milestones.

Projects

The AHG holds several events per year to raise awareness of Allen’s rich history. Past and on-going projects include:

• Curators of the Allen History Collection with business, church, family, residence, and transportation item assets totaling over 4,940 including artifacts, photographs and research materials at the Allen Train Depot Museum and Allen Heritage Village

• Driving tour of Allen Historic Sites and History Scavenger Hunts throughout Allen
• Preservation of Allen Station Dam
• Established Allen Train Depot Museum with docent tours
• Established vision for the Allen Heritage Village and furnished historic structures portraying Allen life through docent tours
• Railroad History Day, FallFest at the Village, Christmas on the Prairie 
• Placement of historical markers around the city

• Community hosting partnering relationships with local non-profits and Leadership Allen

• Restoration and renovation of St. Mary Baptist Church and Allen Christian Church 
• Assist with production of historical videos

• Developed the vision for a locomotive and caboose at the Allen Train Depot Museum to portray the importance of transportation in the development of Allen

Meetings

The Guild meets monthly to discuss the status of current and proposed projects, and frequently features guest speakers on topics of historical significance.

Meetings are currently held on the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm at the Allen Depot (100 East Main Street in Allen).