Thanks to our newest partner, Greene County Public Library, a new batch of materials is now available on DigitalNC! The Greene County Public Library, located in Snow Hill, North Carolina, is one of eight libraries in the Neuse Regional Library System. The materials in this batch include the only known volume of estate papers for Greene County prior to the 1870s, 1850 Greene County census, and a North Carolina Agricultural Station bulletin that provides a look into 1940s medical care.
In February 1877, a legislative act was passed that, among other things, created the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. This act directed the station to conduct research on plant nutrition and grown, discover which fertilizers were best for each crop, and conduct other needed agricultural investigations. Nearly two months after the act was passed, the first station in the state, as well as in the South, began its work in a one-room chemistry laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Eventually the management of the station was transferred to the institution that would become North Carolina State University (NCSU); however, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA) continued to maintain its relationship with the station. Over time, a total of 15 Agricultural Experiment Stations were opened across the state. Today, the stations are cooperatively operated by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and North Carolina State University.
In November 1948, the Agricultural Experiment Station at North Carolina State College (eventually NCSU) published bulletin no. 363, titled “Medical Care in Greene County.” The bulletin provides a fascinating look into 1940s medical care in the county for both its white and Black residents. In addition to population demographic information, the bulletin provides a breakdown of the county’s medical facilities, medical workers, how far people traveled to receive care, how long patients stayed, who went to these facilities and why, cost for care, how patients paid their bills, and if any had insurance. Based on this information, the North Carolina Agricultural Station includes suggestions in the bulletin for the county’s medical care moving forward.
From Thomas Whitfield’s 1991 masterpiece, “My Community, Pink Hill”
Two of the most delightful items in this batch (besides the adorable Twirlettes, of course) are a couple of scrapbooks made by Michael and Thomas Whitfield in the early 1990s documenting some of the major landmarks around town. In addition to short newspaper clippings and the occasional map, these two young historians took care to document the local homes and businesses. Below a photo of the fire department, Thomas writes, “Pink Hill Fire Dept, was formed before World War II. George Turner was the first fire chief in 1946.” Similarly, under a photo of a brick storefront, he writes, “Classy Cats. Owned by Ronda Stroud. Started in May 25, 1986.” These scrapbooks are great resources for anyone wondering who the Town Clerk was from 1991-1993 (Carol Sykes) or wondering who the best dog in town is (Gibbet).
Thanks to a nomination from the Neuse Regional Library, we’ve added 1,098 issues of the Jones County Journal, a newspaper published out of Trenton, N.C. This is one of only two newspaper titles we have for Jones County. Issues date from volume one, number one, published in 1949 through April 1971. Because the Journal was digitized from microfilm shot with high contrast, many of the photographs are not very clear but the text is quite sharp.
The tagline for the paper when it began through 1954 was “A Better County Through Improved Farm Practices” and much of the news in the earlier years revolves around agricultural methods and needs. There are also editorials, personal news columns, and coverage of local events from election results to church picnics and barbecues. There’s quite a bit of coverage of the more populous Lenior County, perhaps in part due to the fact that the paper was published by The Lenoir County News Company.
The Journal is focused on local news, from the front page on. For a number of years Maysville and Trenton have their own sections. Reporters describe national and international events through their impact on Jones County residents. For example, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the front page headline reads “Trenton Area Shares Nation’s Shock on President’s Murder.” Coverage of the Vietnam War is shared in the same way, like the Jones County veteran given half of the newspaper’s front page to describe his experience. Papers full of this kind of unique local reporting, with little to no syndicated content (content that a publisher paid for and was reused in newspapers throughout the world), are especially vital for research.
Digitization of the Jones Journal was possible thanks to generous funding from the North Caroliniana Society. You can find more materials we’ve scanned on behalf of the Neuse Regional Library on their contributor page. You can search thousands of issues of North Carolina newsppaers from all over the state using our Newspapers landing page.
We’re pleased to have added to DigitalNC over 600 issues of the Jones County Journal, dating from the first issue in 1949 through 1961. This paper has been digitized on behalf of the Neuse Regional Library System which serves Greene, Lenoir, and Jones Counties. Due to the quality of the microfilm from which these scans were completed, most of the photographs in the newspaper are of poor quality or completely dark, however the text has rendered clear.
The Journal was published in Trenton, N.C. by the Lenoir County News Company. The first issue lists Mrs. Rachel Cox as editor and women are prevalent as news gatherers in that issue’s “Opening Remarks,” though this changes in later issues.
The Journal features a lot of news and advertisements from the more populous nearby Lenoir County, but Jones County residents get more coverage as the paper matures. The paper covers tobacco farming and agriculture, local government, and personal news like weddings, obituaries, and social events. Many of the earlier issues discuss traffic and accidents as more and more residents purchased automobiles.
Below is the front page of the Journal published right after Hurricane Hazel made landfall in the state in mid-October, 1954. Hazel caused casualties, severe flooding, and heavy property damage. In the United States, coastal and other eastern counties in the Carolinas suffered the most. The front page below shows some of the worst hit Kinston homes and business after the storm.
Jones County is only lightly represented on DigitalNC, so we’re glad to add this newspaper for researchers. If you’d like to view other items we’ve digitized for that area, head over to the Counties page. You can also look at all of the work we’ve completed for Neuse Regional Library.
Back in August, we announced our annual call for microfilmed newspaper digitization. We asked institutions throughout North Carolina to nominate papers they’d like to see added to DigitalNC. As it is every year, it was an incredibly tough choice – we are typically able to choose between 40-60 reels out of over a thousand nominated. This year we’ve chosen the following titles and years.
For our selection criteria, we prioritize newspapers that document underrepresented communities, new titles, papers that come from a county that currently has little representation on DigitalNC, and papers nominated by new partners. After selection, we ask the partners to secure permission for digitization and, if that’s successful, they make it into the final list above.
We hope to have these titles coming online in the first half of 2020. If your title didn’t make it this year don’t despair! We welcome repeat submissions, and plan on sending out another call in Fall 2020.
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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.
