A group of students from Benson High School in 1968
A new batch of yearbooks from Benson, North Carolina, are now up on DigitalNC, courtesy of our partner, the Benson Museum of Local History. Included in this batch are two yearbooks from Benson High School, The Tatler from 1968 and The Tatler from 1969.
These yearbooks show what it was like to go to school in Benson at that time. These yearbooks include individual portraits, class portraits, and photographs of activities, student clubs and organizations like Future Farmers of America, and sports that the students participated in. They also include photographs celebrating the years’ homecoming events, and faculty at the school, including librarians and the school’s bus drivers.
A colored photo of Benson High School Principal Robert D. Warren speaking to the Senior Class of 1969.
To see other materials from the Benson Museum of Local History, please visit their partner page. To learn more about the museum, visit their home page.
The last batch from a set of photos contributed by the Benson Museum of Local History is now up on DigitalNC. We embarked on this digitization project in 2015, and the complete set of over 1000 images is now available. Benson is a town located in Johnston County with a current population of around 170,000 people.
This last batch includes photos of historic Benson residences, Benson businesses, and portraits of Benson community members. The set as a whole is comprised of a wide range of images documenting many aspects of life in Benson. The collection includes photographs of events like the State Annual Singing Convention and the Benson Mule Day Parade, as well as images of less formal group gatherings, such as family barbecues, school events, and church groups. Also included are class portraits, family portraits, individual portraits of town members, street scenes, photos of businesses, churches, homes and more. Most of the photographs date to around the 1920s, but the collection includes photos from as recent as 2003 and photos dating as far back as 1870.
Click here to browse through the complete set of photographs. To read previous blog posts documenting additions of new batches along the way click here.
To see more materials from the Benson Museum of Local History, please visit their contributor page. To learn more about the museum and plan your next visit, please their homepage.
These yearbooks detail the lives and activities of students from Benson High School in Johnston County. This high school has regularly demonstrated creativity and character in its yearbooks and these do not disappoint. Resources like these are great tools for genealogical research and lesson planning. They could also serve as vintage look books for those interested in the fashion and hairstyles of the 1960’s.
Another interesting feature of these yearbooks is their
The Tatler [1964], page 71
condition. Both of these editions of the Tatler are well used and contain the many handwritten notes by the original owner and friends. The 1964 copy contains notes on nearly every page! Many of the yearbooks that our partners contribute are in pristine condition, serving as excellent original documents; however, these copies from the Benson Museum contain the life and character of their owners– a unique aspect for digitized archival collections. The image pictured at the top is an example.
You can learn more about Benson High School and the Benson Museum of Local History by viewing the contributor page or the website. To see more high school yearbooks, perhaps from your community, please browse the North Carolina Yearbooks Collection and limit your search by High School Yearbooks.
DigitalNC has published more than 700 photos from the Benson Museum of Local History in Johnston County. The photos document various aspects of the Benson community from as early as the mid nineteenth century through the 1990s. From family portraits to the “Mule Day” celebrations, these photos give a unique look into many aspects of life in Benson across the decades.
The most recent batch includes photos of little pageant contestants, community awards, family portraits, hog killings, and more.
Many of these photos have excellent documentation of names, locations, and dates. Genealogists, local historians, or Benson residents may find these resources helpful.
These images add to the many others from this collection available online, documenting Benson and the surrounding communities. The photos depict individuals and families, schools and businesses, and many of the local traditions that shape the culture of this small community, like the Mule Day Parade.
To see more images from the Benson Museum of Local History, please visit their contributor page. To learn more about the museum and plan your next visit, please their homepage.
The Benson Museum of Local History has once again provided us with a new batch of unique and entertaining photographs from their collection! For those familiar with this collection, some old family names (Barefoot, Creech, Godwin, Medlin and more) are back, as well as some new looks into the lives of the residents of the town of Benson. In particular, this batch of photos contains a number of images related to the Benson Kiwanis Club.
Kenneth Harold Medlin, Kiwanis Frog Jumping Contest Winner
G.D. Knox at Kiwanis Pancake Supper
Other photographs show the town’s citizens from the early 1900s up to the 1970s. Many are simple portraits or group photographs, but every once in a while a mischievous face or school-boy prank catches the eye.
Jimmy Creech Family
Benson school students
To see what else the Benson Museum of Local History has offered for digitization, see their contributor page on DigitalNC and these previous blog posts.
More photographs from the Benson Museum of Local History have been added to DigitalNC. These 168 photographs join 339 previously uploaded images. They depict daily life in Benson, North Carolina, and many of the same families and places from previous uploads appear again. You can see a variety of people and places, including citizens of Benson, local businesses, homes, parades, performing arts, sports, students, churches, and drawings. Most of the photographs are from the twentieth century.
You can see more from the Benson Museum of Local History on their contributor page and learn more about them on their website. You can also view more blog posts about the Benson Museum of Local History.
A woman stands in front of a railroad depot with cotton platform.
More photographs from the Benson Museum of Local History have been digitized and uploaded to DigitalNC. Like the photographs added in the past, these show citizens and everyday life in Benson, North Carolina. Many of the people and events are familiar from past uploads. Names such as Barefoot, McLamb, Parrish, and Woodall appear again as well as events like the Benson Singing Convention.
Jesse Stephenson with the mail wagon.
Young Sisters Trio at Benson Singing Convention.
All of the Benson Museum of Local History photographs can be viewed here. You can see our blog posts about previous uploads from the Benson Museum of Local History from November, September, and June. The museum’s website can be found here.
A number of new photographs from the Benson Museum of Local History have been uploaded to DigitalNC. These photos feature some of the prominent citizens of Benson, North Carolina, as well as everyday activities and life. Viewers who have been keeping up with the photographs provided by the Benson Museum of Local History will find some familiar surnames, such as McLamb, Parrish, Woodall, and Whittington, as well as some new faces.
Sutton and Phoebe Lee Holmes
This batch of photos also contains a few individuals who might be called local heroes. One man, Stephen O’Neal, was a wealthy businessman and donated land for Benson’s First Baptist Church. Another is an obituary for Bruce McLamb, who died in action in France during World War II.
Stephen O’Neal
Bruce McLamb
Also included in this batch is a number of drawings from a book published by the Eastern Carolina Chamber of Commerce. These drawings feature Benson men who were members of the Chamber and prominent in the financial and political life of town. In addition to the drawings of the men themselves, there are cartoons depicting some of their activities and business ventures as well as a short biography.
Preston Woodall
John W. Parrish
All photos provided by the Benson Museum of Local History can be viewed here. For more information about older batches, see our previous blog posts from June and September, and for more information about the museum itself and their collections, visit their contributor page or their website.
A new batch of photographs from the Benson Museum of Local History has been uploaded to DigitalNC. Many of these enlarged photographs feature prominent members of the Benson community throughout the years. Whether formal or informal, these portraits let viewers see the faces of the individuals who played important roles in the town, and some show quite a bit of their personalities as well!
Mr. and Mrs. Preston Woodall
Reverend and Mrs. Noah McLamb
Another theme in this batch of photos is the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad that ran through Benson, and was later known as the Seaboard Coast Line. The photographs range in time from the early days of the railroad in the early 1900s up through more modern times with portraits of workers.
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Water Tank
Telegram Operator, W. Ralph Barbour Jr.
Smith, Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Worker
To see other photographs the Benson Local History Museum has shared on DigitalNC, check out their contributor page on our website, or this previous blog post. For more information about the Benson Local History Museum and their collection, visit their website.
This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.
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