In the summer of 1982, the Board of Directors of the Greater Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce voted to deposit permanently all their non-current files in the Eastern Kentucky University Archives. The records were removed from the Chamber's office on two separate occasions. At all times the Archives staff has tried to maintain the original order of the records. There are, however, several large gaps within the records. Subject files for the first twenty-five years of the Chamber's history are virtually non-existent, and the minutes of the Board of Directors meetings for the last decade are incomplete. Researchers will find some information in the Scrapbook Series that will help supplement these areas of insufficient documentation According to the provisions of the Agreement of Permanent Deposit the entire collection is open to research.

The major portion of the Chamber's records chronicle the economic history of Richmond, Ky. during much of the twentieth century. Like most chambers across the United States, the Chamber has actively promoted commercial and industrial development in Richmond. But the Chamber has also concerned itself with the social and cultural life of the community. Information in the Scrapbook Series is especially useful in documenting the Chamber's efforts to help develop Fort Boonesborough and White Hall as major tourist attractions. The Chamber injected itself into local, state,and at times national political issues. When threatened with the closing of the Blue Grass Army Depot, members of the Chamber vigorously lobbied state and national political leaders to keep the Depot open. The Chamber's records reflect these issues and others.

The Archives is indebted to Mrs. Sue Chenault, Executive Director of the Greater Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce, for helping secure the records.