Thanks to our partner, Rowan Public Library, a batch containing 36 yearbooks from Woodleaf High School, Cleveland High School, and Mount Ulla High School are now available on our website. These yearbooks range from 1942 to 1959.
Snapshots from The Keepsake, 1958.
To learn more about the Rowan Public Library, please visit their website.
For more yearbooks from across North Carolina, visit our yearbook collection.
Thanks to our partner, Edgecombe County Memorial Library, new materials including a 1955 Leggett High School yearbook, Magazine Club of Tarboro minute books, and architecture research materials for houses in Edgecombe County are now available on our website.
This batch of photographs adds 48 new homes to our architecture research materials for historical houses and buildings in Edgecombe County. In addition to photographs of the houses, some folders contain in-depth documents about the properties including family histories, property history, appraisals, renovations, and more. The Joseph Pippen House record is an example of an information-rich folder. It included photographs and slides from before and after the house’s renovation (pictures seen below), a letter from one of Joseph Pippen’s ancestors, information on the Pippen plantation property, newspaper clippings related to the selling of the house, and detailed information about the house’s architecture.
Joseph Pippen house before renovation
Joseph Pippen house after renovation
To learn more about the Edgecombe County Memorial Library, please visit their website.
To view more architecture research from Edgecombe County, view previous posts here.
For more yearbooks from across North Carolina, visit our yearbook collection.
Thanks to our new partner, Martin Community College (MCC), a North Carolina audio series focused on the history of Martin County and videos showcasing Martin Community College are now available on our website. The recordings detail the history of Martin County beginning all the way from the Upper Paleolithic (~50,000 to 12,000 years ago) to the 1980s. Included in the chronicling of the county’s history is information on early burial practices in northeastern North Carolina (including humans and dogs), hunting practices, Indigenous culture, colonization of the area, agricultural economy of the region, transportation, and much more.
Videos in this batch feature a look at the MCC campus in the 1990s and provide information about the various programs offered by the college at the time. These programs included basic skills, equine management, and medical assisting. The remaining videos highlight the exciting MCC Stampede in the Park rodeo event. This event, which continues to be held annually, raises money for Martin Community College student scholarships.
Stampede in the Park, Rodeo, 1992
Martin Community College is located in Williamston, North Carolina and was established in 1968 as Martin Technical Institute. On June 26, 1975, the college was granted community college status by North Carolina’s General Assembly. The MCC library serves not only the faculty, staff, and students of the college, but the citizens of Martin, Washington, and Bertie counties. Their local history room features books on the history of Martin as well as other surrounding counties, North Carolina history, narratives and photographs of historic buildings, and the Easter Rogerson Mizell Family Genealogy Collection.
To learn more about Martin Community College, please visit their website.
To listen or view more of North Carolina’s sights and sounds, please click here.
First Baptist Church, M. Williams.
Thanks to our partner, New Bern-Craven County Public Library, several materials from First Baptist Church including five new minute books, “A” building classroom renovation plans, and a beautiful print featuring the church’s steeple are now available on our website.
These minute books cover almost 50 years of church history from 1948 to 1988. A majority of the content present in the books are financial reports, budget proposals, meeting notes, and letters. Renovations for the church’s “A” building classroom were completed by MBF Architects PA in 2014. The print was created by artist M. Williams and depicts the First Baptist Church steeple.
To learn more about the New Bern-Craven County Public Library, please click here.
To view more First Baptist Church materials, please click here.
Scenes from A Visit to Hart’s Square, November 1999.
Thanks to our new partner, Wilson County Genealogical Society (WCGS), a batch containing issues from 1992 to 2017 of the WCGS newsletter, Trees of Wilson, is now available on our website.
The primary mission of the WCGS is to preserve the records, heritage, history, and genealogy of the families who settled in Wilson while also promoting genealogy through education and fostering collaboration in research. These newsletters from 1992 to 2017 include information on society officers and events, meetings, member research reports, research tips, and more.
One notable article was published in the March 2016 newsletter titled: “Black Wide-Awake: The Roots of Wilson’s African-American Community.” The article recounts a presentation given by Lisa Y. Henderson—a Wilson County native, WCGS member, researcher, and writer. In her lecture, she talks about the local history and heritage of Wilson County’s early African American community, including information on the earliest recorded account of African Americans in Wilson County. In addition, Henderson discusses the difficulties of researching African American family history, early communities, and provides links to places where she has gathered her information so that others may also use the resources. Her blog was highlighted here last year as a great example of how DigitalNC is used on the web.
To learn more about the Wilson County Genealogical Society, please visit their website.
To view more materials from Wilson County, please click here.
Thanks to support from the North Caroliniana Society and to our partner, Margaret & James Harper, Jr. Library, all 1950 issues of The State Port Pilot are now available on our website. With this batch, our current collection of The State Port Pilot totals 819 issues and spans 1935 to 1950.
The State Port Pilot, August 9, 1950.
Published in Southport, North Carolina, the paper focuses on local and North Carolina news topics such as tobacco farming, the growing Southport community, everyday life in Southport, and local politics. Interesting articles and images from the 1950 issues include the winner of the Carolinas Yam Festival’s Yam Queen title, barning tobacco (picture from the article above), and the early budding of azaleas in Southport.
To learn more about the Margaret & James Harper, Jr. Library, please visit their website.
To view all issues of The State Port Pilot, please click here.
To view read more newspapers from around North Carolina, please click here.
Thanks to our partner, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, a batch containing course catalogs from 1961 to 2005 and Evening School Bulletins from 1970 to 1980 from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College are now available on our website. These catalogs include information on the college’s history, faculty/staff and administrations, campus maps, course descriptions, and programs.
A-B Tech Main Campus
Over the years the college has gone through several name changes. A-B Tech was established in 1959 and was originally named the Asheville Industrial Education Center. After the creation of the North Carolina System of Community Colleges, the school’s name changed in early 1964 to Asheville-Buncombe Technical Institute. Fifteen years later, in 1979, the name changed again to Asheville-Buncombe Technical College. The final name change for the college occurred in 1987 when it was renamed to the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
A-B Tech Enka Campus
The college has enjoyed strong community support as well as funding from the North Carolina General Assembly over the last 60 years. These funds have been used to expand A-B Tech’s physical campus as well as programs, staff, faculty, and services to the community. At one time, the college had four units that were located throughout Western North Carolina, but eventually these units gained independent status and became fully accredited community colleges. The first programs to be offered at the college after its establishment in 1959 were Practical Nursing, Electronics Engineering Technology, and a Machinist program. Today, the college has over 125 programs to study which includes a Brewing, Distillation, and Fermentation program.
To learn more about Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, please visit their website.
To view more materials from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, visit here.
To view more of our materials from North Carolina community colleges, visit here.
Rachel Bland, Miss Watts Hospital of 1948.
Thanks to our new partner, Watts School of Nursing, 44 yearbooks spanning from 1937 to 2017 are now available on our website. These yearbooks provide a glimpse into the student’s social life, women’s fashion, campus culture, local businesses, and changes at the school.
The Watts College of Nursing was organized in 1895 as part of Watts Hospital, making it North Carolina’s oldest nursing program. Over the years, the school has continued to adapt to the changing needs of the profession and students as well as grow its curriculum, facilities, and enrollment. Today, the school continues to hold an excellent reputation for its ability to adapt and to train excellent nurses with a spirit of caring and professionalism.
To learn more about Watts Hospital School of Nursing, please visit their website.
For more yearbooks from across North Carolina, visit our yearbook collection.
Tuba player Greg Davis.
Thanks to our partner, Iredell County Public Library, and support from the North Caroliniana Society the complete collection of the Iredell Citizen spanning from 1998 to 2008 is now available on our website. This is only one of two newspapers that we have for Iredell County.
The Iredell Citizen was first published on April 15, 1998 as a weekly newspaper for the community. The paper was focused solely on publishing articles about the individuals and happenings of the county’s community rather than national or international news stories. Popular articles topics in the Iredell Citizen include retirement, events in the community, city council updates, and obituaries. The last issue of the paper was published on June 26, 2008 after a 10 year, two month, and 11 day run.
To learn more about the Iredell County Public Library, please visit their website. To view more materials from Iredell County, please click here. To view more newspapers on DigitalNC, visit our North Carolina Newspapers collection.
The Daily Record, May 28, 1959.
Senate Passes Minimum Wage Act, May 7, 1959.
Thanks to support from the North Caroliniana Society and to our partner, Harnett County Public Library, new issues of The Daily Record are now available on our website. This batch expands our current collection of the paper to include 1956 to 1962. Published Monday through Friday, The Daily Record suppled Dunn and Harnett County with local and global news stories. Today, the paper continues to be published in Dunn, North Carolina.
Major headlines in this batch include Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to America, Russia’s announcement to send apes to the moon, the aftermath of America sending monkeys to space, and the establishment of a minimum wage in North Carolina.
Starting in 1945, citizens of North Carolina fought for the establishment of a minimum wage in the state. The article to the right, “14-Year Fight Ends; Action First In South,” highlights the establishment of a minimum wage by North Carolina’s General Assembly in 1959–the first state south of Pennsylvania to do so. The bill guaranteed that all workers in the state would be paid a minimum of 75 cents an hour, equivalent to about $6.88 an hour today.
To learn more about Harnett County Public Library, please click here.
To view all issues of The Daily Record, please click here.
To view more newspapers from North Carolina, please click here.
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.