$60,000 for their collection, but George appears to have been quite a negotiator as he was able to talk the Richards's down in price. On June 15, 1961, the Richards's sold the contents of their museum, which numbered 60,000 items, to the Gettysburg National Museum, Inc. for $30,000 – half the asking price. National Park Service era The Rosensteels maintained their museum for another ten years following the purchase from Richards, but in 1971 the family that had been collecting Civil War artifacts for over a century chose to sell. The new steward was the National Park Service in 1967. Over 89,000 artifacts and the museum building passed into the hands of the government. The Jacobs-Agan-Chewning-Richards-Rosensteel Collection makes up the bulk of the National Park Service artifacts preserved and on display today. The building was expanded numerous times to accommodate increases in tourists (e.g., an auditorium for the electric map). References Defunct museums in Pennsylvania History of Adams County, Pennsylvania Gettysburg National Military Park Museums disestablished in 2008 Museums established in 1921