National Heritage Areas Program

The National Heritage Areas Blog has moved! Visit the new National Heritage Areas Blog at NPS.gov. National Heritage Areas (NHAs) are places where historical, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. The National Heritage Areas Program is overseen by the National Park Service. Find out more about the NHA Program.

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We’ve Moved!

The National Heritage Areas Blog has moved! Visit the new National Heritage Areas Blog at NPS.gov for stories and highlights from America’s 55 National Heritage Areas. Want a shorter URL? You can use go.nps.gov/NHAblog .

(Here’s a sneak peak: The first post at our new home announces the release of Season 3 of the National Heritage Areas Podcast. The first episode features Crossroads of the American Revolution NHA and how it shares the history of black soldiers in the American Revolution. Check it out!)

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“Poudre Pour” Celebrates the Benefits of a Healthy River

Fort Collins, CO (April 10, 2019)

Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area welcomed spring with the second annual Poudre Pour, an educational celebration of everything that comes from a healthy Cache la Poudre River, including clean water, recreation, farm-to-table food, and local craft beers.

More than 400 people attended the family-friendly event held the last weekend in March. While attendees munched on farm-fresh appetizers and viewed a local art exhibit, the Blues Society All-Stars provided musical entertainment. Adults were treated to craft brew tastings, while kids had the option of sampling natural sodas.

Two attendees sample local craft brews. (Photo: Carolyn Hill / Poudre Pour 2019)

There were plenty of activities for the kids, including history dress-up, a “River Rangers” scavenger hunt, and a very impressive model of the water cycle made entirely from Legos. For the adults, a panel hosted regional experts, including Park Planner Cheri Yost from Rocky Mountain National Park, to talk about the many uses of the Poudre River and its importance in all aspects of life in the region.

Three kids check out a huge model of the water cycle made by Silas Maler entirely from Legos. (Photo: Carolyn Hill / Poudre Pour 2019)

A crowd watches a panel of experts speaking about the Poudre River. (Photo: Carolyn Hill / Poudre Pour 2019)

Proceeds from the event benefited the Poudre Heritage Alliance, the nonprofit organization that manages Cache la Poudre NHA. The Alliance works to promote a variety of historical and cultural opportunities, engage people in their river corridor, and inspire learning, preservation, and stewardship.

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Historians Gather in Philadelphia to Focus on the “Work of Freedom”

Philadelphia, PA (April 8, 2019)

Hundreds of scholars and public historians gathered in Philadelphia last week for the annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians (OAH). OAH is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history, representing more than 7,800 historians working in the U.S. and abroad. OAH has worked closely with the National Park Service (NPS) for many years.

The meeting took place over four days last week and offered a multitude of sessions with the overarching theme of the “Work of Freedom.” Panelists presented on new avenues of historical research and on the challenges of uncovering history that has previously been “hidden” or suppressed in various ways. Many of those topics and themes are issues the National Heritage Areas grapple with today.

OAH Annual Meeting sign, proclaiming the 2019 theme: “The Work of Freedom.” (Photo: NPS)

NPS historian Amanda Casper speaks about documenting slavery at National Historic Landmark plantations (several pictured on the screen behind her). Many of these sites were designated National Historic Landmarks decades ago, but at the time their association with slavery was ignored. The NPS is working to rectify that by investigating and updating each site’s documentation. (Photo: NPS)

Program manager Diane Miller speaks about the NPS Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program and its work to uncover and share stories of the Underground Railroad. Many of the NHAs have sites involved in this program. (Photo: NPS)

The conference was also an opportunity for OAH and the NPS to highlight their 25 years of partnership. OAH has participated in dozens of historical projects sponsored by the NPS, ranging from historic resource studies (which document the history of a historical site) to theme studies (which document numerous sites associated with a historical topic, such as civil rights or aviation history). These studies often identify important sites that are located within the boundaries of National Heritage Areas and have rich histories in need of preserving.

Susan Ferentinos and Bethany Serafine speak in a session about OAH-NPS collaboration. (Photo: NPS)

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Important History Recognized in Colorado’s San Luis Valley

San Luis Valley, CO (April 3, 2019)

The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area can now count four more historic properties on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service recently announced the new listings, which were nominated by Sangre de Cristo NHA and History Colorado after an extensive documentation process.

All of the newly listed properties recognize the significance of Hispanic heritage in the area. The four properties are:

Garcia Ranch Headquarters in Antonito, a historic ranch home and the outlying outbuildings and property, significant for agriculture and development from 1885 to 1968

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Conejos, the oldest Catholic parish in Colorado (the present buildings dates to 1927/1948 after the original was destroyed by a fire)

Saint Joseph’s Church and Cemetery in Capulin, a Gothic Revival Catholic stone church (1912-13)

Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos (SPMDTU) Lodge Hall in Chama, former outpost of the Hispanic SPMDTU mutual aid society and labor union

Clockwise from top left: Wooden potato cellar from Garcia Ranch; the red and gray brick facade of Our Lady of Guadalupe; the small tan house formerly serving as the SPMDTU Lodge Hall; and the tan Gothic Revival Saint Joseph’s Church with its prominent cross. (Courtesy of Sangre de Cristo NHA)

These designations to the National Register are acknowledgement that these four properties are important pieces of the American story. While having National Register status doesn’t place restrictions on the ownership or usage of the properties, it opens the door for future preservation assistance to help ensure these historic buildings are protected as important resources in the region.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation's historic places worthy of preservation. There are more than 93,000 properties currently listed in the National Register. Groups wishing to nominate a historic property must undertake detailed research and documentation of the property as part of their submission to the National Register, which is managed by the National Park Service.

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Wheeling NHA Wins This Year’s Great American Main Street Award

Wheeling, WV (April 1, 2019)

Wheeling Heritage was acknowledged for its excellent work in historic preservation and community revitalization last week when it was named one of the three winners of the 2019 Great American Main Street Award. Wheeling Heritage is the nonprofit organization that manages the Wheeling National Heritage Area in West Virginia.

Caption: View of Wheeling’s Centre Market District, showing a brick and steel market house building on the left and a row of businesses on the right. The district revolves around its two historic market houses, with the 1853 structure being the oldest cast iron market house in the country. (Credit: Ben Muldrow)

Main Street America’s national award recognizes communities for their excellence in comprehensive, preservation-based commercial district revitalization. Three winners for this year’s award were selected by a jury of community development professionals and leaders in the fields of economic development. The other two recipients were Alberta Main Street in Portland, OR, and Wausau River District in Wausau, WI.

Wheeling Heritage has focused on revitalizing downtown Wheeling through historic preservation, community development, and the arts. When Wheeling’s Main Street program was launched in 2015, the downtown vacancy rate stood at 32 percent. Now, after generating nearly $50 million in total investment, the vacancy rate has decreased to 15 percent and 124 buildings have seen improvements.

The organization has also worked to cultivate an increasingly strong small business community. They launched an innovative live community crowd-funding event for new business ideas called “Show of Hands” and brought in an international entrepreneur-training program to assist new business owners. The efforts are paying off: over the past three years, downtown Wheeling has added 37 new businesses, and thanks to a growing downtown shopping, dining, and arts scene, all anchored by an impressive array of historic architecture, more people are living in downtown Wheeling than ever before.

“We’ve been successful because we are cognizant of the ever-changing nature of our community. While we’ve taken great strides, our work isn’t done,” said Alex Weld, Project and Outreach Manager at Wheeling Heritage. “We continuously evaluate and adapt our programming to address pressing needs in the community, which we feel is the best way to help Wheeling continue to flourish.”

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge, built in 1849, crosses the Ohio River, linking the eastern and western sections of the historic National Road that led Americans west. (Credit: Ben Muldrow)

A group of dancers in traditional Greek costume perform at the annual Greek Festival in Wheeling. Wheeling Heritage provides a grant to support the festival, which celebrates the largest Greek community in West Virginia. (Credit: WV Tourism Office)

(Note: Wheeling Heritage is the DBA/“doing business as” name for Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation, the legal managing entity of Wheeling NHA.)

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A Month of “Monadnock Madness”

Caption: A group of hikers and white blooms on red diamorpha on the bare granite outcropping of Arabia Mountain. (Credit: Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance)

Stonecrest, GA (March 29, 2019)

All month long, Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area has been celebrating the seventh annual Monadnock Madness. This outdoor extravaganza features dozens of events celebrating metro-Atlanta’s three “monadnocks,” or granite mountains: Arabia Mountain, Panola Mountain, and Stone Mountain.

The signature highlight of Monadnock Madness is the Triple Hike Challenge. Hikers were challenged to climb all three mountains in one day, either on guided hikes with experienced rangers, or through the  more flexible “Hike as You Like” self-guided option. Participants who completed the challenge and filled out the Monadnock Madness passport earned a commemorative souvenir.

Other events have included sunset yoga, geocaching, a photography workshop, and a photo contest, taking advantage of the beauty of springtime on the monadnocks. The bare rock outcrops may resemble the moon from afar, but up close they are teeming with life. The unique ecosystem supports rare red diamorpha, a unique plant also known as elf orpine, which are specially adapted to the harsh conditions on the monadnock. 

Mountaintop yoga: Seven participants stretch their hands towards a blue sky during a yoga session on the bare granite surface of Arabia Mountain. Patches of red diamorpha plants are scattered across the outscropping. (Credit: Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance)

A close up view of red diamorpha plants with white blossoms on the bare granite of Arabia Mountain, with white clouds and blue sky above. (Credit: Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance)

The last guided Monadnock Madness hike will be held this weekend, on Saturday, March 30, 2019, but locals and visitors can continue to enjoy the three monadnocks and great events all year long at Arabia Mountain NHA. You can find out more at Arabia Mountain NHA’s website, ArabiaAlliance.org.

Ranger Robby with his backpack on a guided hike of Arabia Mountain. The tree in the foreground may look like a “baby,” but the harsh conditions on the monadnock mean the tree is much older than it might appear. (Credit: Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance)

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Take a Digital Road Trip in the Era of Jim Crow

Murfreesboro, TN (March 26, 2019)

Following the popularity of the film Green Book, the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area and the Middle Tennessee State University have teamed up to create a curriculum and interactive map of selected sites in Tennessee listed in the actual guide called “The Green Book.” That document was regularly published from 1937 to 1960 and aimed to help African American travelers navigate traveling in the Jim Crow Era, when segregation laws and discrimination meant few businesses welcomed African Americans.

After the Civil War, states across the country turned to Jim Crow laws to enforce segregation and white supremacy. Many of these laws, named for a racist caricature of an enslaved person, mandated that businesses keep their black and white clientele separated, which allowed hotels and restaurants to turn away black patrons entirely. Jim Crow laws were widespread until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended the legality of segregation, although discrimination continued.

“Jim Crow and the American Road Trip: Tennessee Green Book Sites, an Interactive Map” provides stories and photos of hotels and businesses that welcomed black travelers. Some of the structures can be seen today, while others have been demolished and exist only in memory. The accompanying lesson plan helps high school teachers use primary sources to understand Jim Crow laws and their impact on Americans’ civil liberties and daily life.

Old red, yellow, and blue neon sign for the Eldorado Motel in Nashville. The motel itself has been demolished, but the historic sign can still be seen today. Photo credit: Robbie D. Jones.

Historic postcard depicting the Bijou Theatre in Nashville. The theater opened in 1904 and was the flagship for one of the first theater chains for African American patrons in the South, the Bijou Amusement Company. Credit: Bijou Theatre, 1908, International Postcard Company, Nashville Public Library, Special Collections.

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Celebrating Women in Flight in the National Aviation Heritage Area

Dayton, OH (March 25, 2019)

Women’s History Month is in full swing in the National Aviation Heritage Area in Dayton, Ohio. Programs this month have featured a number of living historian programs about women and their impact on the history of aviation and the US Air Force.

On March 14, Gigi Coleman-Brooms brought the story of her great aunt, Bessie Coleman, to life at the National Museum of the Air Force. Coleman was the first woman of African American and Native American descent to obtain her pilot's license. Coleman Brooms’s living history performance portrays the hardships and accomplishments of Coleman’s journey. At the end of the night, the audience left the show impressed by this heroine of aviation history.

Black-and-white photo of aviator Bessie Coleman standing next to an early airplane. (Courtesy of the National Museum of the Air Force/National Air & Space Museum)

Coming up next week is another living history presentation, this time at the WACO Air Museum (named for what was one of the largest manufacturers of civil aircraft in the United States). On March 28, Molly Cooper will present “A Woman’s Place in War: The Women’s Army Corp in WWII.” Dressed in World War II historical costume, Cooper will give a brief history of the Women’s Army Corps (founded originally as the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps/WAAC), from its pre-war roots to V-J Day on September 2, 1945. Cooper will also share a 1944 recruiting film, facts, and anecdotes to bring alive the experiences of the first “Lady GIs” during this period in American history.

Photo of a woman in Women’s Army Corps uniform speaking into a radio transmitter. (Courtesy of the WACO Air Museum.)

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Great Basin NHA Joins “Lint Camp” to Preserve Caves at Great Basin National Park

Caption: A large group of “Lint Camp” volunteers pose with their equipment while cleaning Lehman Caves.

Great Basin National Park, NV (March 21, 2019)

Great Basin National Heritage Area is helping preserve the natural wonders of the Lehman Caves in Nevada—one hair at a time.

Each year, more than 30,000 visitors pass through the caves, which are one of the highlights of Great Basin National Park. Each visitor unintentionally leaves behind a little bit of lint and other debris—a hair flies off their head and clothing fibers shake loose from their clothing. Over time, a layer of dust and lint builds up. That debris harms the caves, not only affecting their visual beauty, but actually dissolving cave formations and providing an unnatural food source for cave life, such as mites, bacteria, and other small creatures.

 To prevent damage from debris build up, Great Basin National Park holds “Lint Camp” cleanups each winter, when the caves are drier and less busy. Earlier this month, staff from Great Basin National Heritage Area joined other volunteers in dusting walls, removing hair from cave formations, and scraping algae off of lights. Entire families joined in the fun as they helped park staff protect these natural wonders.

A volunteer in a hardhat uses a brush to dust the walls of Lehman Caves. Credit: Great Basin NHA.

This tuft of hair clinging to the end of the brush was removed from the cave walls, shown in the background. Credit: Great Basin NHA.

Learn more about Lint Camp.

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“It’s More Than History” Connects Baltimore’s Past and Present

Baltimore, MD (March 19, 2019)

“It’s More Than History” is the name of Baltimore National Heritage Area’s highly successful speaker series. That’s what more than 60 people experienced at Friday’s lecture as they listened to Ashley Minner present on the little-known Lumbee Indian community in Baltimore.

Minner, an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, is a local visual artist who has been active in the Baltimore Lumbee community for many years. Following World War II, Lumbee Indians from rural North Carolina began moving to East Baltimore. They formed a large satellite community, with numbers reaching into the thousands.

However, Baltimore's Lumbee community has been absent from popular narratives of the city. In recent years, the community’s numbers have dwindled as members move away and buildings significant to them are demolished. There aren’t many written records about the Lumbee in Baltimore, and most stories of the community are passed down orally. Minner shared some of these stories about their people, their history, and the places important to their community.

Presenter Ashley Minner stands in front of a crowd during her presentation at the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture on Friday. (Photo credit: Baltimore NHA)

Since 2011, the Baltimore NHA’s speaker series has attracted more than a thousand attendees. Topics focus on people and places in Baltimore, with the goal of creating tangible connections with the past. Learning about the history and people of the city shapes the way Baltimoreans interact on a daily basis with the city’s architecture, neighborhoods, and communities. Recent topics have included Baltimore’s segregated school system and the role of “spirit photography” in the Civil War Era.

The third and final “It’s More Than History” lecture of 2019 will be held Friday, April 12. Local author Antero Pietila will talk about the life and legacy of Johns Hopkins, an entrepreneur whose institutions have influenced race relations in Baltimore, from its heyday through its decline and revitalization.

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Six New National Heritage Areas Designated

Caption: A colorful graphic listing the names and states of the six newly designated National Heritage Areas over a satellite view of the United States.

Washington, DC (March 14, 2019)

Say hello to six newly designated National Heritage Areas! With the signing of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act on March 12, 2019, the United States now has 55 National Heritage Areas (NHAs). This announcement marks the first time any new NHAs have been designated since 2009.

The states of California and Washington, are getting their first NHAs (or in the case of Washington, its first two). Arizona is getting its second; Maryland its third; and West Virginia its fourth. Pennsylvania now counts a total of eight NHAs.

The six new NHAs are:

Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area (West Virginia and Maryland)

Maritime Washington National Heritage Area (Washington)

Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area (Washington)

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area (California)

Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area (Arizona)

Susquehanna National Heritage Area (Pennsylvania)

What does this mean for each of these six areas? Each NHA will benefit from community-driven public-private partnerships. The efforts will support heritage tourism, historic preservation, nature conservation, economic development, recreational opportunities, educational programs, and more. Learn more about National Heritage Areas at NPS.gov.

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Erie Canalway Grants Promote History, Recreation, and Education in Local Communities

Waterford, NY (March 13, 2019)

This month, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor awarded a total of $30,000 to six local organizations to promote education, recreation, and heritage along the Erie Canal. The grants are matched by an additional $178,618 in private and public support.

Among other things, the awards will help the Rochester Public Library create a curriculum about the Erie Canal, expand access to the Kayak through History tours, and create an immersive virtual reality experience at the Rochester Museum and Science Center.

Since 2007, Erie Canalway NHC has awarded 75 grants—more than $525,000 in total—to local communities and nonprofit organizations. Those awards have leveraged an additional $2.6 million in non-federal support.

One of last year’s grants allowed Corn Hill Waterfront and Navigation Foundation to begin a new environmental education and STEM program for inner city youth. That project brings students from Rochester City School District to the canal for hands-on science aboard the canal boat Sam Patch. Students learn about the scientific process by gathering water and mud samples from the canal and analyzing them for water quality and active invertebrate life.

Two students analyze a sample of mud they collected while on board the Sam Patch canal boat. (Image courtesy of Corn Hill Waterfront & Navigation Foundation)

Two students investigate invertebrate life from their water samples aboard Sam Patch. (Image courtesy of Corn Hill Waterfront & Navigation Foundation)

A separate grant to the Schenectady County Historical Society funded an educational program about the bateau, an early boat that was commonly used for transportation on the Mohawk River before the Erie Canal was built.

Historical reenactors take visitors on a fun and educational trip on a bateau on the Mohawk River. (Image courtesy of Schenectady County Historical Society)

This year’s awards will help local organizations create similar opportunities for education, recreation, and heritage along the Erie Canal. Visit Erie Canalway NHC’s Grants and Funding page to learn more about the program and this year’s grantees.

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Kicking Off “No Man’s Land” Bicentennial

Many, LA (March 8, 2019)

Last month, Cane River National Heritage Area opened two years' worth of events celebrating the bicentennial of Louisiana’s “No Man’s Land.” The kick-off event took place on February 15-16 at Fort Jesup State Historic Site and featured activities that showcased the legends and culture of Louisiana's “Final Frontier,” including living history demonstrations, music and dance performances, cast-iron cooking, and children’s games.

The Buccaneers of Lake Charles pose in their colorful swashbuckling outfits with their swords held in the air. (Photo courtesy of Sabine Parish Tourism Commission.)

From 1806 to 1819, the area of western Louisiana known as No Man’s Land held official status as a neutral buffer zone between Spanish Texas and the United States’ newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. Both Spain and the United States claimed No Man’s Land; until a new treaty was signed in 1819, the result was that neither country maintained control over that strip of territory. No Man’s Land became a unique area outside the laws of any nation. It quickly gained a reputation as a tough and isolated “Final Frontier” rampant with outlaws.

However, today No Man’s Land is better understood as a stronghold for cultural groups who wished to find a home where they could preserve a cherished way of life. No Man's Land was the place where the pirate met the cowboy, and where Native Americans, French, Spanish, Africans, Creoles, Cajuns, and American pioneers from the South and West met to build communities and a culture like no other.

No Man’s Land Bicentennial events celebrate that rich culture and heritage and will be held throughout the region into the fall of 2021.

Performers from the Choctaw-Apache Tribe Rising Sun Youth. (Photo courtesy of Sabine Parish Tourism Commission.)

A blacksmith shows off his skills to an audience of young people. (Photo courtesy of Sabine Parish Tourism Commission.)

A boy’s eyes go wide as a living history reenactor shows him a knife used in early medicine. (Photo courtesy of Sabine Parish Tourism Commission.)

Two living history reenactors prepare hot-water cornbread and collard greens in a historical kitchen. (Photo courtesy of Sabine Parish Tourism Commission.)

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Remembering “the Weeping Time” in Savannah, GA

Savannah, GA (March 6, 2019)

This past weekend marked 160 years since the largest recorded sale of enslaved people in American history took place. This dark time in 1859 came to be known as “the Weeping Time” and was recently commemorated in the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.

In March 1859, 426 men, women, and children were auctioned off at the former Ten Broeck Race Course in Savannah, Georgia. This sale of enslaved people from two plantations owned by Pierce Butler was so large that it took two days. Those who recalled the event called it the Weeping Time because, they said, God must have been crying.

On the anniversary of the Weeping Time each year, people gather in Savannah to pay tribute to the memory of those who were sold. This year’s memorial events reflected the sense of kinship and ancestral connections of the Gullah Geechee people.

On Saturday, 436 empty chairs—to represent all of the individuals listed for sale during the Weeping Time—were arranged at the auction site in a semi-circle, a traditional West African pattern to honor their African heritage. While the names of those sold were read aloud, attendees raised an umbrella, symbolizing an offer of eternal protection to those who had no protection as they were separated from their families and auctioned off in the rain.

Three women holding umbrellas during the memorial service. (Photo credit: Heather Hodges / Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Commission.)

Coinciding with the commemoration was the unveiling of a new historical marker at the Butler Plantation in Darien, 50 miles away on the Atlantic coast. The marker memorializes the men, women, and children who were enslaved there in the 1800s, many of whom were sold during the Weeping Time. More than 60 years ago, a different historical marker was erected at the Butler Plantation, but it made no mention of the enslaved people whose labor sustained the plantation. At Saturday’s unveiling, many descendants of those individuals had traveled from across the country to finally see their ancestors recognized.

Descendants of people enslaved at the Butler Plantation stand in front of the newly unveiled historical marker at the Butler Plantation. (Photo credit: Heather Hodges / Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Commission.)

This year’s public commemorations of the Weeping Time were sponsored by the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, Organization to Commemorate Enslaved African Americans, Journey by Faith, Ivory Bay CDC, Otis J. Brock III Elementary School, Georgia Historical Society, and Solomon Temple.

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Capturing the Living Landscapes of Essex NHA

Salem, MA (March 5, 2019)

The Essex National Heritage Area has announced the winners of the 2019 Essex National Heritage Photo Contest. The winning photos capture a broad swath of the variety and beauty of the Essex NHA as seen by local residents.

The grand prize went to a photo by Laurence Spang that illustrates the power and majesty of the ocean along Essex’s coast:

Grand Prize winner: “Waves” by Laurence Spang of Salem, showing a person reaching into the mist of a powerful ocean wave breaking against the shore in Salem. Photo courtesy of Essex NHA.

“People’s Choice” was awarded to a close-up photo that highlights the contrast between delicate monarch butterfly wings and the sharp spikes of a thistle.

“Monarch and Thistle” by Kathy Diamontopoulos, captured in Haverhill. Photo courtesy of Essex NHA.

Winners were also selected from four additional categories: “A Closer Look,” “People of Essex County,” “Off the Beaten Path,” and “IGers of Essex County” (for Instagram submissions).

The eleven winning photos will be on display for the next year at the National Park Service Visitor Center in Salem and at the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission in Haverhill.

Visit the Essex NHA website to learn more about the contest and see all of the winning photos.

1st prize winner in the category of “A Closer Look”: “Sunflower, All For Me” by Ken Jordan, showing a bee zooming towards a sunflower in Haverhill. Photo courtesy of Essex NHA.

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Compelling New Exhibit on Local Black History Opens at the Berkshire Museum

Pittsfield, MA (February 28, 2019)

Image: Two people standing in front of a black-and-white portrait of Shirley Ann Session-Edgerton, whose oral history is featured in the exhibit. Photo credit: Stephanie Zollshan / Berkshire Eagle.

Earlier this month, a new exhibit opened at the Berkshire Museum titled “Their Stories: Oral Histories from the NAACP.” The exhibit is part of an effort to bring awareness to the long and rich history of the African American communities of Berkshire County in western Massachusetts.

The vibrant African American community of the Berkshires region stretches back more than two centuries. In 1781, Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman of Stockbridge sued for her freedom, setting off a chain of events that ended slavery in Massachusetts. In the 20th century, noted civil rights leader W.E.B. DuBois was a native of Great Barrington. Yet that history is not always visible to visitors or even to residents of the area.

The NAACP Berkshire Chapter and the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area have been working to change that. The NAACP Berkshire Chapter teamed up with the Housatonic Heritage Oral History Center, a collaborative project of the Upper Housatonic Valley NHA and Berkshire Community College, to record oral histories from current leaders of the local black community. “Their Stories” features ten compelling recorded narratives from that project.

Along with the audio recordings, the exhibit features striking black-and-white portraits of the speakers. The Berkshire Museum has also contributed a number of related objects from the Berkshire Museum’s collection. “Their Stories” will remain on display at the Berkshire Museum through May 5, 2019.

To learn more, visit the Oral History Center page at the Upper Housatonic Valley NHA website.

Image: A troupe of dance performers from the opening reception of the exhibit. Photo credit: Stephanie Zollshan / Berkshire Eagle.

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A Story of Resilience: New Exhibit Features One of Georgia’s Oldest Black Communities

Decatur, GA (February 26, 2019)

Historic photo (circa 1903-1904) of the Flat Rock Methodist Church Board of Trustees: ten men in suits, along with two infants. Photo credit: Flat Rock Archives.

A new exhibit in the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area tells the story of Flat Rock, one of the oldest African American communities in Georgia.

From the early 1800s through today, the Flat Rock community in Dekalb County has thrived due to the hard work of its members and their strong sense of community. Prior to the Civil War, enslaved people labored here on the cotton plantations of this area. After emancipation, several black families remained, making their living off the land and relying on each other for strength and support.  Though dogged by marginalization and animosity, the people of Flat Rock flourished.

Descendants of the early Flat Rock residents remain in the area today. In 2006, descendant Johnny Waits founded the Flat Rock Archives to preserve and share the community’s history and culture. The new exhibit, titled “Deep Roots in DeKalb: The Flat Rock Story of Resilience,” is a collaboration between the Flat Rock Archives and the DeKalb History Center. The exhibit opens on February 28, 2019, at the DeKalb History Center in Decatur, where it will be on display for the next two years.

As visitors learn about the people of Flat Rock and DeKalb County, they will discover a story of strength, ingenuity and resilience that continues to this day.

Learn more about Flat Rock at the Arabia Mountain NHA website.

Flat Rock Archives President Johnny Waites points to a photo during a tour of the historic T. A. Bryant House, a 1917 structure which now houses the archives. Photo credit: Flat Rock Archives.

Headstone for “Hanley, Mrs. Cassie Shoemaker” among fall leaves in the historic Flat Rock Cemetery in Lithonia. Photo credit: Flat Rock Archives.