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A new group in Belhaven is looking to preserve the town’s 136-year history – online. The hope is that an online presence will provide easy access to historical information and records. 

Known as the Belhaven History Project, the informal group is composed of residents who are either native to the town or who moved in recent years. The group formed last month at the Belhaven Public Library. 

Group member, Dr. Alan Jones, moved to Belhaven six years ago from Chapel Hill. A Kenan Distinguished Professor Emeritus in biology and pharmacology at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Jones said being a member of the Belhaven History Project shows how much he loves Belhaven, because he has “always hated history.” 

 “I’m a scientist. Things have to obey rules and history doesn’t obey any rules…To me, history makes no sense, but I’m not doing science anymore. I’m doing history, because now I figure  that history is the glue. It makes everything make sense if you have the history.” 

Fellow group members G.B. and Linda Bowen, Richard Montgomery and Jean Lamkin said they either have a general interest in history, a love of Belhaven or both. 

“When you approach the ages that we are,” G.B. Bowen said, “you start to think about the footprint you want to leave behind. When you’re 28, 38 years old, and you’re raising a family, and you’re shoveling food in the kids’ mouths and hauling them to ball practice and all the rest, you don’t really have time to think about things like this. Now we do. And as everyone contemplates their own mortality, I feel like this is a way that maybe future generations will be able to look and see ‘well, who were these people that got this together?’” 

Bowen clarified, saying this is not a “vanity project,” but should be seen as a resource for younger generations to use to learn about the area where they either live or were raised. 

Right now, members of the Belhaven History Project are collecting historical documents, maps, photos and interviews from residents with the goal of having a digital collection by the end of next year. The hope is that anyone who would like to research Belhaven’s history online, and further, the northeast portion of Beaufort County, will have access to information curated by citizens. By the time they are finished, they hope to have a webpage filled with information and anecdotes that honors the history and people of Belhaven. 

“The Belhaven History Project seeks to bring together memories, images, news accounts, and oral histories from as diverse an array of points of view, lived experiences, and ages as possible,” according to the project’s mission statement. 

The Belhaven History Project, everyone said, will treat each item brought before them with the upmost respect, care and attention. 

The Belhaven History Project and the Belhaven Public Library are collaborating to create a webpage that is organized by topic and year. 

Library Director, Pat Saunders, said the Belhaven History Project is as important as it is interesting. Given library patrons’ interest in local history, Saunders thought it a good idea that the two should join forces. 

“It’s interesting to me, but I also have a lot of patrons that come in here that want to know the history of Belhaven…It’s going to be presented, preserved here for people to come here and see and I think that’s going to make a big difference, Saunders said.” 

Jones said several North Carolina Universities have expressed interest in helping with the project. UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Greensboro and East Carolina University. He has a meeting on Monday, Dec. 9 with representatives from ECU’s Library Sciences to request assistance.