By: Adam Brinson
Since February of 2020, I have been serving with the Beverly Heritage Center. In that time, I have worked in the collections department, with most of my time spent assessing and cataloging documents. While this work is highly important to the goals of the BHC and there have been genuinely interesting moments and items during it all, it unfortunately does not make for the most exciting reading. Instead, I will write about some of the current projects at the BHC that I have been involved in recently.
Front façade of the Hill Building in Beverly, WV.
The first project I have contributed to is the development of new exhibit space at the BHC. At present, the front façade of the Hill Building, a section of the Heritage Center, is unusable due to structural damage. The goal of this project is to both fix the space in question and to develop new exhibits for the space. These exhibits would allow us to both always have exhibits available to the public and create interest and bring new visitors into the museum. The first step was securing grant funding. I wrote a grant application for the Tucker Community Foundation while Jessica Black, a fellow AFNHA servicemember at the BHC, applied for a similar grant from the Snowshoe Foundation. We are currently waiting for a response from these organizations. Once we receive word from these groups, Jessica and I will work toward developing the exhibit materials that will occupy the restored façade space. Assuming everything goes to plan, these exhibits will be available by next spring.
Rich Mountain Battlefield near Beverly, WV.
The second project, and the one that I am more closely involved in, is the development of hiking trails on Rich Mountain Battlefield. One of our longtime concerns about the site is the lack of things to do there. At present, when one arrives at the battlefield, they spend 20 minutes looking around and then leave. Hiking trails at the site will increase attendance, particularly from outside of our usual “Civil War Buff” demographic, and visitor engagement with the site. To start my work on this project, I hiked along the proposed route, taking notes on what would need to be done to make the trail easily accessible to the public. Then realizing that this project would need a decent number of people working on it, I reached out to local Boy Scout troops to see if any of their members would be interested in assisting with the project. As an Eagle Scout, it was nice to be able to pull on my background for this project. One troop expressed interest in the project, but due to complications from COVID-19, they were unable to assist with the then upcoming workday. Hopefully, they will be able to assist with trail in the future. On October 10, I lead a team made-up of other AFNHA servicemembers and BHC volunteers in brush-clearing and trash pickup along a major section of the trail. The workday proved successful, with that section of trail being almost completely cleared of plant growth, fallen logs, and other obstacles. While the project is currently mostly on hold during the winter season, we will be picking it back up come springtime. There is still much to do to make the trail ready, including further brush clearing, lining, mulching, and the development of signage, both directional and interpretative. However, I am confident that we will be able to officially open it by June 2021.
RMBF Trail in progress near Beverly, WV.
