April 2011
Mus
MARC NEWS
eum
& A rchi o ves f king h WE am NT Cou WO RT H nty Roc
A quarterly publication of the Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives
TEL (336 EPHO N ) 39 4-49 E 65
A Big Success! In the April 13th issue of the Reidsville Review, Steve Lawson reported that “the event brought the historic Wright Tavern and its adjoining buildings to life.” He was right. On April 9th, the village of Wentworth was jumping!
IN THIS ISSUE Feature Article
1
Notes from the Tavern
2
Restoration Update
3
Mr. History’s Highlights from the Past
4
Recent & Upcoming Events 5-6 RCHSMA in Action
Vol. 1, No. 2
7
RCHSMA People
8-9
The Tavern Gift Shop
10
Letter from the Director
11
MARC your Calendar
12
Editor-in-Chief:
Kim Proctor
Contributing Editors:
Lucy Berry Jean Bullins Rebecca Cipriani Fletcher Dalton Robbin Dodson Brenda Ward
County Historian:
Bob Carter
Design, Layout:
Rebecca Cipriani
Printed by:
Twin Rivers Printing & Graphic Arts, Inc. Madison, NC
Despite dreary weather, over 200 people of all ages aKended and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, thoroughly. Visitors watched American RevoluNonary War re-‐enactors drill and talked with them about the experience and equipment of 18th century warfare. They heard the sound of the fife and smelled the scent of pipe tobacco and spent ammuniNon in the temporary encampment. TradiNonal music played on the porch. Close by folks poured over maps and discussed historical issues of interest with our county historian and friends. Inside, genealogy researchers helped others find their ancestors and connect to their heritage. All day on the hour, large groups toured Wright Tavern and the Wentworth Presbyterian Church. The Rockingham County Mineral Club manned a sluice, where visitors panned for gems, as they gave lessons in geology that received rave reviews. Visitors warmed themselves by the fire in the Tavern’s 19th century log kitchen. Families played quoites (a tradiNonal game similar to horseshoes) and chess, poured over exhibits and demonstraNons, and listened to storytellers, learning new things at every turn. And, no one went hungry, thanks to the Wentworth Ruritan Club, who sold grilled hot dogs with all the accompaniments at prices from another decade. Our first 2nd Saturday Family Day Event, “Colonial Life in North Carolina,” was a big success! Our next Family Day will be Saturday, June 11th. The theme will be the Civil War experience. We've already begun working on it, so mark your calendars. You won't want to miss it!
Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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Notes from the Tavern Remembering Friends A REVOLUTIONARY WAR HISTORIAN DIES Ken Haynes, Jr., age 63, of Reidsville died on March 7, 2011 at his home. A memorial service was held on March 14, 2011 at Citty Funeral Home Chapel in Reidsville. Burial was at Midway United Methodist Church Cemetery. Ken was a native of Reidsville and lived most of his life there. He was a graduate of Reidsville Senior High School and UNC Chapel Hill. He later attended Elon College. He was a former employee of the National Park Service at Colonial Williamsburg and a U.S. Navy veteran. Ken was a member of the Rockingham County Historical Society Museum and Archives. He is survived by a number of cousins. Memorials may be made to the Rockingham County Historical Society Museum and Archives, PO Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375. Ken was interested in all military history but especially interested in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. He began his study of the Revolution while at Chapel Hill and continued his study of the subject for over 40 years. He did a monumental study of troop movement in the South for both the American and British armies. He assisted many historians with his vast knowledge of the Revolutionary War history and will be missed by those who knew him.
TAVERN HOURS Thursday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
OFFICE HOURS Wednesday-Friday 9 :30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Congratulations are in Order Congratulations to our own Dr. Lindley Butler, whose article on Blackbeard and the Queen Anne’s Revenge can be found in the Spring issue of American Heritage Magazine, available on newsstands soon!
AND BY APPOINTMENT
Do You Know This Woman? Call Wright Tavern at (336) 394-4965
At the end of April, we said “goodbye” to Sandra Apple, RCHSMA’s bookkeeper and my administrative assistant. Sandra joined the organization at the beginning of the year and quickly put our finances and our office in order. She was kind to every person who came through the door or called on the phone. She took care of me when I was brand new. Now, she’s going home to take care of her family and her health, for awhile. Just to set the record straight, what we actually said was “see you soon.” Sandra promises to stay involved with the museum. She’s hooked like so many of us. She’ll be back as often as circumstances permit. Thank you, Sandra. This organization, I, couldn’t have accomplished so much without you by my side. We look forward to seeing you soon and wish you the very best! Before Sandra left, she showed our newest employee, Meg Manuel, the ropes. Meg came to us as a dedicated Inventory Friday volunteer. We quickly recognized that she would be an important part of our team—a perfect fit—and my right hand. Meg brings a BA in Business Administration (UNCG), extensive office and customer care experience, enthusiasm and efficiency, and a love of history to RCHSMA. Welcome, Meg. Imagine the things we’ll accomplish together! We’re on a mission.
Congratulations to our dear friend Margaret T. Allen on her upcoming 100th birthday. Her son, George Lewis Allen, Jr., tells us that “she still enjoys reading the MARC newsletter although attending our meetings and Margaret Allen, on the functions is not occasion of her high school feasible as it graduation. once was.” Mrs. Allen, we hope you continue to stay in touch with us, and we wish you happiness and health as you approach this milestone birthday.
Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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RESTORATION UPDATES The Historic Landscape Restoration Project Begins with a Bang! The exterior painNng and repairs at Wright Tavern were completed in February.
A special thanks is in order to Ronnie Poindexter and the crew from Poindexter PainNng Co., Inc., Steve Hopkins and his crew, Kent Rierson, Russell Hundley, and Si Rothrock, for his supervision of the project. The building looks great, guys! Thank you. As you can imagine, restoraNon at an historic site never ends. The spring growing season dictated our next task, so in March we began restoraNon of the historic landscape. This is an exciNng project! In addiNon to the standard tasks of trimming trees and shrubs, this project involves new and exciNng elements. Reshaping the terrain to remedy drainage problems will solve many preservaNon concerns for the property. The creaNon of a kitchen garden with tradiNonal vegetables and herbs, as well as creaNon of tobacco, flax, and coKon plots adjacent to the Tavern Kitchen will provide living examples the county’s agricultural heritage. PlanNng is slated to begin in early May. One of the crowning moments as work began was when U.S. Congressman James W. Reid’s stone sidewalk, part of a major civic improvement project in the village during the late 1870s, was uncovered. It is a treasure and changes the front yard dramaNcally. Credit for this amazing addiNon to our site goes to Debra Crumpton, who graciously leads the Landscape CommiKee and our wonderful landscaping crew: Ben Duke, Wanda Fagg, James Fagg, and Lance Brown whose experience with historic landscape at Chinqua Penn and enthusiasm for the job at the Tavern is invaluable!
Waiting to hear from the Covington Foundation Meanwhile, we’re waiNng to hear about the results of our recent funding applicaNon to the Marion S. Covington FoundaNon. If we are granted funding, repairs to the three outbuildings on the Tavern property—an early 19th century smokehouse, corn crib, and kitchen (moved from Governor Morehead’s childhood home and set on the original Tavern's stone floor, a unique example in our state) will begin. In addiNon, we plan to restore the staircase on the south wall in the Tavern dining room that led to the servants’ quarters on the second floor. This will allow the integraNon of an African American interpretaNon into the Tavern space. Keep your fingers crossed!
Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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Mr. History’s Highlights from the Past Bob Carter, County Historian MAYODAN MILLS IS PROSPERING Mayodan is primarily the home of the Mayo mills, but there are many commercial and industrial interests in the town which are not centered about the Mayo mills. The town owes its origin to the coming of its large cotton mill, 24 years ago, and has kept pace with the growth of the plant. Although located only one and a half miles from Madison, which is an old established trading center, Mayodan has many retail concerns carrying complete stocks of all kinds of provisions and supplies. Mayodan has its own drug store, bank, postoffice building, etc.
Photo was made from the hill overlooking the town. The large building on the right side of the street at the end of the smoke stream is the lumber plant mentioned in the article. The Coke plant was located across the street from the lumber plant.
Besides the yarn and knitted goods manufactured by the Mayo mills, Mayodan has a concern that manufacturers large quantities of building supplies, the Mayodan Lumber Company. This company has a large and modernly equipped plant for the manufacture of sash, doors, blinds, mantels, etc. and is doing a large business in these supplies. J. V. Highfill, the manager, says they have more orders for these supplies than the company can furnish without working overtime. In addition to the manufacturing this concern handles large quantities of lumber, paints, oils, hardware and a general line of building material. The Mayodan Lumber Company has very recently started business and the management is highly pleased with the success so far attained. The Coca-Cola Company has a modern bottling plant at Mayodan, which supplies a large territory with its products. The Mayo mills, located at Mayodan, on the Mayo river, one and a half miles north of Madison, is part of the large system of Washington Mills, which are scattered over a wide territory.
The Mayo mills began operation 24 years ago. At that time there was only a spinning mill employing less than 100 persons. Later the knitting mill was added and at the present time there are more than 500 names on the company payroll. No longer does this mill manufacture yarn, from our native products, to be shipped to other sections of the United States to be made into the finished product, but now the complete process is carried out right at home. The raw cotton which goes into this mill comes out as knitted cotton underwear, the finished product. The underwear is of high quality heavy underwear, and is found in all markets. The average daily output of the knitting mills alone is valued at $6,000. In the spinning mill, where the raw cotton fiber is spun into yarn, are 25,000 spindles, having an annual output of over one million dollars worth of yarn. There are two power plants at the mill developing 18,000 H.P. The mill has its own ice manufacturing plant, supplying ice to employees and others at cost. Madison and Mayodan are both furnished with light and power from the light plant of the Mayo mills. The mill village is conveniently and spaciously laid off, giving an abundance of room, which is a great factor in fighting ill health. The mill authorities are proud of their employees and the healthful surroundings in which they live. Concrete sidewalks and electric lights are some of the modern conveniences the employees enjoy. All of the streets of the village have been sand-clayed during the last year, by the mill. The officials in charge at the mill are T. H. Turner, assistant treasurer and W. H. Bollin, superintendent. – Winston Salem Sentinel. From: The Reidsville Review, December 27, 1922
Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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RECENT & UPCOMING EVENTS The “CROSSING OF THE DAN”: First RCHSMA Program of 2011 The 230th Anniversary Commemoration of the Crossing of the Dan was held on February 19, 2011 at the Prizery in South Boston, Virginia. The annual event commemorates American General Nathanael Greene and his troops crossing the Dan River at Boyd’s Ferry to distance themselves from the British Troops led by General Charles Cornwallis. Once north of the Dan, General Greene obtained additional troops and supplies and returned to North Carolina to meet Cornwallis’ troops at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse a month later. While Cornwallis won the Battle his troops were so weakened that he was forced to leave North Carolina and move on to Yorktown where he surrendered his army to the Americans. The program at the Prizery included the presentation of wreaths by the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution. A sad occurrence was the death of Eden resident Kenneth R. Patterson three days previous to the program. Mr. Patterson had participated in the wreath laying ceremony for many years. He was a member of the Nathanael Greene Chapter S.A.R. (Greensboro) and was active in that chapter as a member of the Color Guard. Following an excellent address by Dr. John W. Hall, a historian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the attendees walked to the Boyd’s Ferry site. Following a brief program at the river the attendees returned to the Prizery to enjoy a barbecue lunch. The event was the first quarterly meeting of the Rockingham County Historical Society Museum and Archives and a number of members attended and enjoyed the event. The program was sponsored by the following organizations: Berryman Green Chapter DAR, Dan River Chapter SAR, Halifax County Historical Society, Halifax County Middle School, and the Town of South Boston.
Keep Saturday, June 18th open! We're planning our upcoming Society Program. It's going to be something special. Watch your mailbox and e-mail alerts for more details in the upcoming weeks.
Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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The Eden Preservation Society, the Rockingham County Historical Society Museum and Archives, and the Eden Historical Museum are presenting a Civil War Symposium to be held in June.
Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011 Time: 9:30am - 5:00pm
Location: Eden City Hall, Eden, NC
The subject of the symposium is Capt. Thomas Robinson Sharp, who spent the last 30 years of his life in what later became the Draper section of Eden, NC. Under Stonewall Jackson, Sharp masterminded one of the great railroad heists of all time during the Civil War. On May 24, 1861, soldiers began to seize some 40 locomotives and nearly 400 railroad cars they had accumulated and relocated them 130 miles over land. Read more about The Great Train Raid of 1861 - Strasburg, Virginia. Sharp was from a railroad family. His father was superintendant of several railroads in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Sharp was assistant superintendent and later superintendent on numerous railroads prior to the Civil War. He became the mastermind behind the Great Train Raid of 1861, the Confederates stealing of locomotives, cars, rails, telegraph wire, etc. from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the building of the Centreville Railroad, the first Confederate government railroad. After the war, Sharp continued in the railroad business along the East coast, and even worked for the B & O Railroad, the very line he had robbed of equipment during the war! About 1879, he bought over 1400 acres of land in what is now the Draper section of Eden, NC, and developed a hamlet by the name of “Sharp, NC.” He died in 1909 and is buried at Lawson Cemetery in Eden, and his wife, daughter and father-in-law are buried at Church of the Epiphany in Eden.
Cost of the symposium is $40 and includes lunch. Registration deadline is June 11, 2011. Seating is limited, so register early! To register, or for more details about the CIVIL WAR SYMPOSIUM, visit our website: http://www.edenpreservation.org/symposium.html Or call: Melissa Whitten at (336) 623-6393
Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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RCHSMA IN ACTION WE RALLIED! RCHSMA commiKees have been very acNve and very producNve during the last four months. Each commiKee met twice a month and put in many, many dedicated hours. As we did, we began to connect with one another, evaluate the tasks before us, respond to immediate demands, and develop a plan of acNon. The commiKees reviewed, evaluated, and revised their porNon of the RCHSMA 2010 Strategic Plan, evaluated where we stood, and determined where to go from there. And off we went. Each commiKee has produced excellent work which is worthy of commendaNon. The accomplishments are too many to list here, but a few examples are in order.
Members of the Programs Committee plan our first Family Day Event. Clockwise: (top) Elaine McCollum, Chair, Charles Rodenbough, Lowell Curry, Ward Triche, Lu Bass, Bob Carter
We have an administraNve team (paid staff and dedicated volunteers) in place, who have Ned up lots of loose ends and moved steadily forward to make sure that RCHSMA is on top of its business, that its house is in order, that the lines of communicaNon are open and acNve, and that there is a working process in place to keep the wheels of progress turning.
We have a newly designed newsleKer and an updated website. We’ve made important media contacts and have received lots of good coverage throughout the county, the region, and the state. Our visibility has increased exponenNally. We have a comprehensive and up-‐to-‐date membership database. We’ve had several successful mailings. The appropriate membership and museum forms have been created. And we completed one of the most important documents a museum creates, the CollecNons and Management Plan (CAMP). The inventory of our current collecNon is proceeding well.
Several Saturdays, folks got together and inventoried the Morehead kitchen. Clockwise: Meg Manuel, Marguerite Holt, Carol Adams, Von Neal, Mary Lynn Somers, Kim Proctor
As you can see in arNcles throughout this newsleKer, we put together our first RCHSMA program, The Crossing of the Dan, and our first Family Day Event, Colonial Life in North Carolina. We are restoring the historic landscape at Wright Tavern, working on Tavern exhibits and a tour, and addressing preservaNon issues there. We’re wriNng small grants and gekng qualified to go aler the larger ones to fund the vision. We conNnue to work with the county to create a lease for the 1907 Courthouse and the 1910 Jail, and that process is moving along at a steady pace.
Internal and external outreach efforts are going on all the Nme, thanks to so many of our members. You have challenged each other, parNcipated in the commiKee meeNngs, aKended the events, represented us in the community, and facilitated meeNngs with important partners -‐ numerous county agencies, cultural enNNes, educaNonal insNtuNons, community organizaNons, and their representaNves. We are building a strong team and a strong presence in this county. Great appreciaNon is due to every person who has parNcipated in any part of the organizaNon and RCHSMA programs thus far. We rallied and we launched RCHSMA with a bang. We are taking care of business, learning new things, we are working out issues and having lots of fun, and we are in the public eye. It’s an exciNng start! It’s an excellent beginning! Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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RCHSMA PEOPLE CELEBRATING 99 YEARS WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY When attorney Robert Dick Douglas, Jr., celebrated his 97th birthday last summer, he expressed an interest in visiting the cemetery to see the grave of his great, great grandmother, Martha Martin Douglas and her parents, Robert and Mary Settle Martin, in Rockingham County. Lucy Berry asked Bob Carter and Charles Rodenbough if they would join the Douglas family on this significant occasion. About seven years earlier, soon after Douglas had written his book, “The Best 90 Years of My Life,” he had joined one of the work sessions of the Rockingham County Historical Society that was restoring the badly damaged stones in this Martin-Settle Cemetery. He enjoyed that day so much, and the members of the work crew had so enjoyed his colorful reminiscences of family traditions, that the prospect of reprising that experience in some way was encouragement enough for Carter and Rodenbough to come along. The experience of listening to the recollections of this gentleman, direct descendent of famous orator and statesman Senator Stephen A. Douglas and great, great, great grand-nephew of Governor Alexander Martin, and with his hand resting lightly on the large, box gravestone of Martha Martin Douglas, beside the extended stump of a now dead cedar tree that had been planted at the time of Robert Dick Douglas II, Robert (Bobby) Dick Douglas III, and Robert Dick Douglas IV beside the grave of her burial in 1853, Martha Martin Douglas and the vine-covered cedar tree somehow brought the in the Martin-Settle Cemetery. wonder of history alive in this scene of wooded majesty. We caught a few of Douglas’ richer stories on a recording for our archives and used the four box tombstones of these ancestors as picnic tables for a plastic bottle and soda crackers snack. The Douglas family members heard new and old stories and shared some of their own. Douglas was himself interested in the story of the slave Washington whose nearby grave told of the tragedy of the sixteen year old boy’s accidental shooting on Christmas Day 1846.
Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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RCHSMA PEOPLE ANNOUNCEMENTS:
THE SAURATOWN PROJECT DESCRIPTION: A research project focused on the importation of “100 Negroes”
into the Dan River valley of North Carolina (Rockingham County) around 1770 by Antigua merchant, Francis Farley and his son, James Parke Farley. Unusual to this preRevolution movement of enslaved people is the possibility that some individuals may be followed from captivity in West Africa, to a period on a sugar plantation on the Caribbean Island of Antigua, to the frontier of Colonial North America, and their extended habitation on this 26,000 acre plantation at least to 1799. The genealogical roots may be connected to recent African-American research. With the assistance of DNA and slave trade records, they may be cross-connected to a specific West African location. More unique to their experience is the ability to study the three specific life systems: West Africa (free), Antigua (slave, sugar cane colony), North Carolina (slave, tobacco colony) applied to a single grouping of people.
PARTICIPANTS: Charles D. Rodenbough, author and historian. After retirement, he was able to concentrate on history and historic preservation and is the author of numerous articles in magazines and journals and of four books: Governor Alexander Martin, Biography of a North Carolina Revolutionary War Statesman; historical novels, Pine House, and If the Lord is Willing; and History of a Dream Deferred, William Byrd’s Land of Eden. The latter is a general history of the Sauratown Plantation which is the locale spoken of for the study of the slave group in The Sauratown Project. He has done extensive research in England, Scotland, and Antigua on the overall subject.
The Sauratown Project has recently been picked up by the Institute of African-American Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Fatima Jackson, Professor and Director of Institute of African-American Research, has offered Charles and Mel their international contacts, interns, office space at Carolina, grant access, contact with UNC Press, and computer scientists to set up our international interactive data base. Congratulations, Gentlemen! We’re proud to have you associated with us, we wish you the very best in your scholarly endeavors, and we look forward to future developments. To learn more, join us and spend “An Afternoon with Rockingham County Author Charles Rodenbough”
Melvin H. Graham, is a skilled and multi-faceted professional with nearly 30 years in Federal law enforcement. In retirement he has been able to enjoy the development of his own family story which has personal connection to the Sauratown Project and Rockingham County, North Carolina. Some of his research has been published in family history journals. Melvin makes his home in Rhode Island with his wife, Cleo, and has done research throughout the east coast on African-American cultural and social history. The authors hope to design the text to be used by those with African-American roots for their genealogical research both general, and specific. It will be a social history in that these slaves were not only captured and transported but they were transported a second time. Thus they were forced into the economic purpose of a single related ownership in multiple locales and the diverse functions of sugar and tobacco plantations. They went from free labor in Africa, to slave labor on a British island, to a less circumscribed slavery in a Colonial frontier. Within the structure of these three settings they were forced to make life for themselves: family relationships, subsistence, society, religion, human survival. This study will add a contrasting dimension to all studies of individual slave societies. It will not be able to define how every slave community might adapt to multiple forced change but it will follow with continuity, the way a particular group coped.
In addition to his work on the Sauratown Project, Charles is the author of many local history books including History of a Dream Deferred: William Byrd’s Land of Eden. Sunday, May 22 at 2:00 p.m. at Church of the Epiphany, 538 Henry St., Eden For more information or to RSVP, please contact us at rchsmamembership.com or call the Tavern at 336.394.4965.
Free and open to the public.
Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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The Tavern Gift Shop Pick-‐up Price
Price by Mail
The Journal of Rockingham County History and Genealogy (2 issues per year; 1976-‐1996)
$3.00
$5.00
The Journal of Rockingham County History and Genealogy (Annual; 1996-‐2009)
$6.00
$8.00
Covered Bridge Postcards (limited set of three)
$1.00 per set
$1.50 per set
$5.00
$8.50
$5.00
$7.50
$10.00
$12.00
$20.00
$25.00
$108.00
$113.00
$5.00
$9.50*
$10.00
$14.50*
$5.00
$9.50*
Publica(on Title
Madison, North Carolina Sesquicentennial Booklet (1968)
Postcards from Rockingham County (Book format)
Rockingham County: A Brief History
Rockingham County Marriages through 1868 Rockingham County Heritage Book (1983, 2010 reprint) Rockingham County Historical Map (through 1800) Rockingham County Historical Map (1912 Miller Map) Rockingham County Historical Map (1952)
For a more detailed list of publicaNons and addiNonal items offered by the Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives (RCHSMA), visit the Tavern Store on-‐line at rockinghamcountyhistory.com. You may place an order by phone at 336.394.4965, by e-‐mail (rchsmamembership@gmail.com), or by regular mail at RCHSMA, P.O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375. When submikng an order to be shipped, please include a check for the total made out to RCHSMA. If you are a North Carolina resident, please add 7.75% tax to your total. *Shipped in Tubes Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
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Letter from the Director My favorite t-‐shirt reads: “How do I live? I live to make a difference!” At Wright Tavern, every day is full, every day is challenging, and every day holds moments of both joy and frustraNon. Yet, as busy as I am, in every day a moment arises when I know I’m making a difference and I reflect on how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to do what I love.
Kim Proctor
Museums make a difference. At RCHSMA the mission is to gather, care for, and share our county’s history and treasures: our arNfacts, our stories, and our people. RCHSMA’s vision is to create a museum complex (Wright Tavern, the historic courthouse, and the historic jail, all adjacent to one another), a space where all these things converge, where history is presented authenNcally and inclusively and a space where the community is served in a mulNtude of ways.
Our vision is to create a sNmulaNng place where quesNons and discussion are encouraged, where everyone can find something of interest to see or do, something familiar, and something meaningful to think about. In this vision, the Museum & Archives of Rockingham County (MARC) will be a place where folks come to learn new things and make new connecNons, a place to get to know themselves and their neighbors a liKle beKer, a place of then and now. This place we envision will certainly improve the quality of life in Rockingham County. Even as the precise path is being carved out, the mission is clear, the vision is bright, the cause is exciNng, and the goal is achievable! Together we can make this happen. Join me and all the passionate, dedicated people who have nurtured this cause and created this vision. Become a volunteer: get involved, join a commiKee, share your talents, and invite your friends and family.
Sub-committees and newly developing committees meet on a TBA basis.
Committee Meeting Schedule WHAT
WHEN
WHERE
Operations/ Executive:
third Wednesday of the month at 3pm
Wentworth Town Hall
Governance:
third Wednesday of the month at 4:30pm
Wentworth Town Hall
Presentation:
1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at 4pm
Wright Tavern
Preservation:
2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at 4pm
Wentworth Town Hall
Programs:
1st and 3rd Thursday of the month at 4pm
Wright Tavern
Publicity:
2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 4:30pm
Wentworth Town Hall
Committee meetings are open to the public. These meetings last between one and two hours. During the vacation months of June, July, and August committees may decide to hold only one formal meeting each month. To stay up-to-date check the News & Events page on our web-site at rockinghamcountyhistory.com. While you’re there, sign up to be on our "Week-at-a Glance" e-mail list and get updated each Monday on that week's schedule and interesting developments. To add your name to the list, simply submit a request through the Contact Us page or e-mail us at rchsmamembership@gmail.com.
Rockingham County Historical Society Museum & Archives, P. O. Box 84, Wentworth, NC 27375 (336) 394-4965 | www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com
MARC your calendars!
On Your MARC, Get Set - GO!
F RO C K IN R O M : GHAM C OUNTY H IS T O R IC M U S E U M A L S O C IE T Y & A RC H IV ES P. O. B O X 84 WENTW O RT H , N C 27375
May 21st, Find out what is Recyclable, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, Rockingham County Farmers Market, CoSponsored by Keep Rockingham County Clean and Green June 11th, 2nd Saturday Family Day at the Tavern: The Civil War Experience, 10am-3pm, Wright Tavern, Wentworth June 18th, RCHSMA Society Program. Stay tuned for details June 25th, Thomas Sharp Symposium, 8:30am-5pm, Eden City Hall
MARC NEWS April 2011
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