Over 50 years of History
Organization
May 4, 1962-First meeting was held
- Chair--Mrs. Leslie R. Hummel (Elizabeth Hicks)
- Secretary--Mrs. Claude Wheeler (Edith Howell)
- Members:
Mrs. D. G. Brummitt (Kate Fleming)
Mrs. C. G. Royster (Kathryn Bullock)
Mr. Claude A. Renn
Official Formation
May 22, 1964--Constitutiion, By-laws and Incorporation papers approved and filed at a cost of $20.00
- Officers:
President, Mrs. Elizabeth Hicks Hummel
Vice-President, Mrs. Richard W. Harris
Secretary, Lynette Adcock
Treasurer, Mr. Claude Renn
Projects 1964-1974
May 2, 1964
- Bi-Centennial celebration of the first Court House at Oxford Plantation
- Marker at the Benton House (Samuel Benton), Oxford's oldest house
October 29, 1964
- Earl of Granville flag becomes official Granville County Flag
- Map church cemetery plats and identify grave
May 29, 1965
- Index records in Clerk's Office at the Court House
October 30, 1965
- Museum Committee formed
- Family Cemetery plats being drawn
- Bible records sought
- Goat House sills salvaged for project
- Methodist Church Bi-Centennial tie-in
June 5, 1966
- Essay Contest held for school children
- Scrapbook Contest held for Granville County Schools
October 29, 1966
- Collaborated with DAR on article in DAR Magazine about John Penn
June 2, 1967
- Asked Commissioners to purchase microfilm reader
- Requested census records up to 1870
October 19, 1968
- Attept to preserve Patillo School house on Julian Wilson's property
- Linden Ave. widening--disposition on Old Oxford Cemetery questioned
- Paid difference to refinish Court House doors rather than replace them
May 31, 1969
- Records to be microfilmed
- Sold Bi-Centennial Brochures for 50 cents in celebration of 1764 Court House event
- Marker for Edmund Taylor home site on Hwy. 96, eight miles south of Oxford
September 27, 1969
- Society takes stand to keep Granville County Records in Granville County
- Society favors erection of memorial to all servicemen
- Delegation to ask Commissioners for use of old jail as a County museum site
Projects 1975-1984
Minutes were missing after September 27, 1969 up to May 22, 1982
May 22, 1982
- Society petitions Commissioners to refrain from closing Court Street or making any addition to the existing ourside structure of the Court House
December 11, 1982
- Initiated setting up a historical district(State Archives to help with historic survey of Oxford and possibly Granville County)
October 15, 1983
- Recording genealogical inquiries
- Collaboration with library to Xerox Bibles
Projects 1985-1994
November 9, 1987
- Decision to publish book with results of historical survey being conducted
January 11, 1988
- Contest to name the book; involving schools
- Formed the Granville County-Oxford Historic Properties Commission
May 6, 1989
- "Heritage and Homesteads" published
- Paid for Old Oxford Cemetery restoration; fencing
- Replacement of Oxford Women's College State Historical Marker
June 26, 1989
- Collected contributions for cleaning of vandalized John Penn Monument at Guilford BattlegroundOctober 21, 1989
October 21, 1989
- Society asks City of Oxford to repair stone wall-Horner Military School site
Projects 1985-1994 (con't.)
April 12, 1992
- Coordinated Historical House Markers project in Oxford, NC
- Sent $250 to Hawley Middle School to help with their Granville County Day
February 7, 1993
- $25 sent to Girl Scout Troop in Bullock
- $100 sent to Friends of Archives, Raleigh, NC
- $50 sent to Somerset Place Foundation, Creswell, NC
- Plan to purchase two NC Architecture Heritage Education Program Kits to teach NC History--for the school system
June 8, 1994
- Society leased all assets from the Granville County Museum and is in complete control of the museum
September 14, 1994
- Renovation plans for the old jail began
Projects 1995-2004
April 26, 1995
- Renovation starts on old jail; Morgan Kenney, consultant
March 5, 1996
- Nancy J. Walter hired as part-time museum director
April 22, 1996
- Letter sent depicting a positive future for C. G. Credle School building and suggesting ways to keep it open
September 12, 1996
- Nancy J. Walters decided not to renew her contract; JoAnna McDaniels offered the contract
November 17, 1996
- Time Capsule stored at museum
October 20, 1997
- Commissioners accept terms that old freezer locker be used as a museum; Morgan Kenney to oversee renovation
November 2, 1997
- Plan for freezer locker to become annex and permanent history exhibit established in the old jail
May 26, 1998
- JoAnna McDaniels resigned; Pam Thornton volunteered to serve as interim director
July 14, 1998
- Society cooperates with Arts Council in quilt project
November 15, 1998
- City Commissioners approve "Museum Lane" for street leading to museum
October 19, 1999
- Morgan Kenney resigned renovation of jail; Belmont Builders contracted to finish
April 5, 2000
- Society seeking museum director
May 9, 2000
- Harris Exhibit Hall chosen as name for museum annex
August 2, 2000
- NC Museum of History consultant to help outline permanent Granville County History exhibit in old jail
February 10, 2001
- Museum aired on WRAL TV--Brain Teasers
Projects 2005-2014
March 8, 2004
- Design Dimension of Raleigh contracted for permanent Granville County History exhibit in the old jail
March 12, 2007
- Supported formation of the Historical Preservation Commission
November 11, 2007
- Society to negotiate purchase of Curt Tillotson Train Collection
February 11, 2008
- Society to renovate storage building behind Harris Exhibit Hall for train exhibit
December 10, 2013
- Papers signed to raise storage building and build new construction
Projects 2015-Present
May, 2018
- Stephanie Velazquez May named Museum Director; Michaela Howell, Assistant Director
2019
- Granville Greats Exhibit opens at Harris Exhibit Hall (Museum)
- CSX Caboose donated to Historical Society
2020
- July - Art Gallery Room opened in Harris Exhibit Hall and started with Art in Quarantine series.
- Awarded NC Community Foundation Grant, NC Humanities Council Grant, and Cannon Foundation Grant.
2021
- County celebrates 275th anniversary and museum opens commerative exhibit in July.
- Society begins "Save the Seaboard Train Depot" project.
Special Acquisitions
- Oxford Buggy Company Carriage Purchase--April 20, 1991
- Horse Drawn and Motorized Hearses Purchased--abt. April 20, 1991
- Lyon-Winston Farm Wagon on Display--Granville County Court House--February 7, 1993
- Farm Wagon--Concord Runabout Buggy--built by Oxford Buggy Company--September 14, 1994