A new group that digitally curates Belhaven’s past
Redirx – A new group in Belhaven wants to preserve 136 years of the city’s history – online. The hope is that the online presence will provide easy access to information and historical records.
The Belhaven History Project is an informal group composed of both longtime residents and recent newcomers. It was established last month at the Belhaven Public Library.
Dr. Alan Jones, a member of the group, relocated to Belhaven six years ago from Chapel Hill. A Kenan Distinguished Professor Emeritus in biology and pharmacology at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Jones explained that his participation in the Belhaven History Project reflects his deep affection for the town, despite his lifelong dislike of history.
“I am a scientist. Everything has to obey rules and history doesn’t obey any rules…To me, history doesn’t make sense, but I don’t do science anymore. I’m working on history, because now I realize that history is the glue. It all makes sense when you have the history.”
Fellow group members GB and Linda Bowen, Richard Montgomery and Jean Lamkin said they had a general interest in history, a love of Belhaven, or both.
“As you get closer to the age we are now,” says GB Bowen, “you start to think about the mark you want to leave. When you’re 28, 38 years old, and you’re raising a family, and you’re shoveling food into kids’ mouths and dragging them to ball practice and everything else, you don’t have time to think about things like this. Now we do it. And as everyone is contemplating their own mortality, I feel like this is a way that maybe future generations can look and see ‘who were the people who did this?’”
Bowen clarified, saying this is not a “vanity project,” but should be seen as a resource for young people to learn about the region where they live or grew up.
Members of the Belhaven History Project are currently gathering historical documents, maps, photos, and interviews from local residents, with the aim of creating a digital archive by the end of next year. Their goal is to make citizen-curated historical resources accessible online for anyone interested in researching Belhaven’s history—and by extension, the history of northeastern Beaufort County. When completed, the project aims to launch a website filled with valuable information and personal stories that celebrate the history and people of Belhaven.
“The Belhaven History Project seeks to bring together memories, images, news reports and oral histories from a diverse range of viewpoints, life experiences and ages,” according to the project’s mission statement.
The Belhaven History Project, everyone said, would treat every item brought before them with the utmost respect, care and attention.
The Belhaven History Project and the Belhaven Public Library collaborated to create web pages organized by topic and year.
Library Director Pat Saunders said the Belhaven History Project is as important as it is exciting. Given library patrons’ interest in local history, Saunders thought it would be a good idea to combine the two.
“It’s interesting to me, but I also have a lot of visitors who come here who want to know the history of Belhaven… It will be presented, preserved here for people to come here and see and I think that will create an attraction in itself. big difference, says Saunders.”
Jones said several North Carolina universities have expressed interest in helping with the project. UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Greensboro and East Carolina University. He held a meeting on Monday, December 9 with representatives from ECU Library Science to ask for help.
