The Photograph Collection contains well over 15,000 images. Four major collections include:

The Blackham-Eggers Collection
Dr. George Blackham was a well regarded and civic minded doctor who lived from 1846 to 1923 and who took a number of photographs of Dunkirk with a view camera, the photos then being printed by George A.H. Eggers, a local portrait photographer.

The Meisnitzer Collection
John M. Meisnitzer lived and worked in Dunkirk from 1874 to 1945, in the City Water Works Department. He was an avid amateur photographer who took a number of photographs of Dunkirk, including a series of photographs of various construction projects.

The Knowlton Collection
This is a series of photos taken by Cecil Knowlton, owner of a local photography store in Dunkirk, N.Y.  Born in Pennsylvania in 1895, he died in 1977 in Dunkirk

The Hodorowicz Collection
Matthew Hodororwicz was a local photographer who served as the main photographer in preparing a book by J.A. Chewning called Dunkirk, New York: Its Architecture and Urban Development.. He donated the 4×5 negatives to the museum in 2018.