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Correspondence, papers, records, journals, cashbooks (or account books), scrapbooks, newspaper articles, passport, currency, manuscripts, books, songs, pictures, stamps, clippings and legal papers. This collection contains a wide variety of materials. The correspondence, papers, records, bookkeeping journals and cash books of Julius Diamond reflect the economic conditions of the time and are good examples of how merchandising business was conducted. The scrapbook, assembled by John W. Trench, contains manuscripts, Civil War letters and clippings, describing events such as the battles of Gettysburg, Bull Run and Vicksburg. There is an original holograph passport issued by Consul General at Marseilles, France, to a native of Italy, taken during the war. Newspaper clippings discuss the price of gold, burial ceremonies, and the sale of enslaved persons. Also included are recipes, poems, songs and jokes written during and about the Civil War, as well as other historical documents not preserved elsewhere.

This collection contains banking records from various businesses and banks dating back to the early 19th century. Included are bank receipts, record books, cash and receipt books, and financial ledgers. Such records are from the Gradner Maine General Store, Edwin Robinson, and the York County Water County.

The Sanibel Island Collection consists of photographs that highlight the geographical, environmental, social, and civic aspects of Sanibel Island. There are also letters, telegrams, and newspaper articles that highlight the social and community life on Sanibel Island. All materials in this collection are prior to the damage caused by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

This collection consists of ten Smith family letters, thirty-three receipted invoices, one bill for tuition, and one diary, all dating between 1782-1864. The letters were chiefly among members of the Smith family and confined to family subjects, but several have educational value in that they represent the thinking of that period, the closeness of family, their religious nature, and in one case a letter by a young lady who moved from Rhode Island to Savannah, Georgia, writes back to her family in Rhode Island and tells of her impressions of the South. One very religious letter by James W. Smith of Thomasville, Georgia, dated 1864, to his uncle, Mr. Remington Smith of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, acknowledges a letter to his father which arrived a week before "his demise."

Consists of publications, advertisements, photographs, administration and research on the east coast railroads of the United States collected by history scholar Gregg M. Turner. Consists of four series, including but not limited to documents and photographs of railroad history (1830-1890), the Plant System Co. Inc.(1860-1902), the three primary railroads on the eastern seaboard of the United States (1830-present), and independent railroads. A portion of the collection has been digitized by Florida Gulf Coast University's Library Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives and is available on D[url=https://fgcu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/search/?type=edismax&collection=fgcu:0216]igitalFGCU[/url].