The Lota Garner papers contain family records, photographs, religious magazines, and sermons. Records span for nearly a hundred years starting in 1830 until 1931. Lota Garner was an art professor at Michigan State Normal College from 1902 until 1931. The collection is arranged into three series: Family Papers, Manuscripts, Photographs, Religious Magazines, and Sermons.

Content in the Family Papers series include Agreements, Correspondence, Iscac Bigelow papers, Thomas Garner papers, and Lota Garner papers. The Manuscripts series contains manuscripts written by an unknown author. The Photographs series includes a photo of an unidentified man, and an album belonging to Professor T.C. Garner of Fenton College. The Religious Journals series contains the American Congress of Social Science, The Oberlin Evangelist, and The Spiritual Magazine these journals are from about 1835 until 1880. The Sermons series is a collection of sermons written presumably by Isac Bigelow who was a pastor.