For more than eighty years, the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has presented Leadership in History Awards to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all people.
Today, AASLH announces the Awards of Excellence winners for this year. The 2026 Albert B. Corey Award winner and History in Progress winners were previously announced.
Awards of Excellence
The Award of Excellence is presented to recognize excellence for projects (including civic engagement, special projects, educational programs, exhibits, publications, etc.), and individual lifetime achievement. This is the main award in the Leadership in History Awards program.
California
Barona Cultural Center & Museum for Sinyohow Haawaakm ‘Aaknach (Sinyohow and the Twins)
Sutter County Museum for From Barbers’ Row to Beale Air Force Base: Black History in Yuba-Sutter exhibit
Colorado
C.J. Brafford for a lifetime of preserving Colorado’s Native American traditions and culture
Connecticut
Ridgefield Historical Society for Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ Oral History Project
Public Art CT for the Public Art CT project
The Watershed History Collective for Complicated Colonial Narratives: Slavery in South Windsor
District of Columbia
Japanese American Citizens League, Washington D.C. Chapter for But, Where Are You REALLY From? Teaching the Next Generation About Japanese American History
Georgia
Historic Oakland Foundation for Oakland Roots Academy
Illinois
Illinois State Museum for Mi Casa es Tu Casa: The Beardstown Project
Indiana
Indiana Historical Society for Beyond El Barrio: Early Cultural Contributions to the City of Indianapolis, Seen and Unseen
Kansas
Johnson County Museum for Ripples: Water, Community, and You
This project has received a commendation from the AASLH Climate and Sustainability Committee.
Shawnee Town 1929 for the Shawnee Town 1929 multimedia tour app
The Gordon Parks Museum for Wayman Chapel A.M.E. Church Commemorative Park
Kentucky
Judy Lyne for more than four decades of volunteer leadership in records preservation, genealogy, and public history
Kentucky Historical Society for Our Stories Our Service: Kentucky’s Women Veterans
Louisiana
Historic New Orleans Collection for Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration
Massachusetts
Plays in Place for the Kittie Knox Plays
Minnesota
City of Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development, 106 Group, Minneapolis African American Heritage Work Group for the Minneapolis African American Historic and Cultural Context Study
Missouri
Missouri Historical Society for Gateway to Pride
Nebraska
The Natural Face of North America Project for The Natural Face of North America: The Maximilian-Bodmer Expedition, 1832-1834
This project has received a commendation from the AASLH Climate and Sustainability Committee.
New Mexico
New Mexico Historic Sites for the Taylor-Mesilla Historic Site
Nevada
Nevada Northern Railway Museum for NNRy Records Vault Renovation
New York
Town of Mendon, New York, for Lafayette’s Remarkable Tour Through The Greater Western New York Region
North Carolina
Cashiers Historical Society for Campfires & the Embers of Youth: The History of Summer Camps in Western North Carolina
Ohio
Harriet Beecher Stowe House for the Harriet Beecher Stowe House 2 Era Restoration
Pennsylvania
African American Museum in Philadelphia for AAMP Presents the Pearl Bailey Showcase
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Historical Society for The Girl of My Dreams, Sylvia: A 19th Century Life
The Heart of Wattayai for the Heart of Wattayai project
Little Compton Historical Society for the Sakonnet History Project
South Carolina
Historic Columbia for Heat & Hardship: The Hidden Labor of Enslaved Cooks
Texas
The Alamo for Stories Bigger Than Texas: The Alamo Podcast
Del Mar College for South Texas Rabble Rousers: A Primary Source History of Protest & Struggle
Irving Archives and Museum for Badge of Pride: From Silence…to Celebration!
Utah
Jane Beckwith for more than forty years of preserving and sharing the history of the Topaz War Relocation Center
Brigham City Museum of Art and History for Uncovering the Journey: Japanese American Pioneers in Box Elder County
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University for Repainting the I: The Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals
Virginia
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation for Following the Dragon: Chinese Ming Porcelain in Early Jamestown
Publication Awards
Large Press: Philadelphia: A Narrative History by Paul Kahan (University of Pennsylvania Press)
Honorable Mention: Texas Takes Shape: A History in Maps from the General Land Office by Mark Lambert, James Harkins, Brian A. Stauffer, and Patrick Walsh (University of Texas Press)
Small Press/Independent: Paul Revere’s Ride: An Illustrated History by Cortney Skinner and the Paul Revere Memorial Association (PRMA)
