José Chiachiri Municipal Historical Museum

Created in 1957 by initiative of journalist José Chiachiri, the museum is the institution responsible for guarding, preserving and promoting the historical heritage of the city and surrounding region.

It is situated in the old Public Jail of Franca, a building in eclectic style, projected by the French architect Victor Dubugras, inaugurated in 1896 and listed as a heritage site by Condephaat in 1997.

[1] The museum has one of the most important historical collections in the interior of the state of São Paulo,[2] with approximately 4,000 pieces, related to events and personalities of Franca and other cities in the region.

As a result, several objects were donated by the public power and by families from Franca, from other cities in the northwest of São Paulo and the southwest of Minas Gerais, making the initiative possible.

[6] The museum holds permanent and itinerant exhibitions, of long and short duration, lends pieces from the collection to partner institutions, offers monitored visits for students, conducts research and selects material for consultation, besides organizing book launches and cycles of debates and lectures on the region's history.

The nucleus of objects from prominent personalities in the region, especially those who lived during the first half of the 20th century,[1] and the special library, with complete collections of newspapers that circulated in Franca between 1881 and 1995, is equally interesting.