Few towns in the state (or even the country for that matter), are as rich in history as Washington. From being THE major port on the East coast at one time to being a crucial stop on the Underground Railroad, to being the first town in the country named for General George Washington, its past should be studied, celebrated, and preserved.

Reference Specialist and Archivist for the City, Stephen Farrell agrees. "Washington has always had a unique place in North Carolina’s history; geographically, we are currently situated between two large centers for North Carolina history, the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City and the North Carolina History Center in New Bern." (A geographical gap full of history of the Tar/ Pamlico river basins past.) I, among others, am looking forward to filling this gap in Eastern North Carolina’s history by supplying our community with a state-of-the-art education and history center, here in the heart of Historic Downtown Washington."

"We have an enormous amount of artifacts and historical documents that need to be brought to light. Our collections have the ability to be used in capacities beyond just the city, our history has the potential to reach the interest of university studies and even Hollywood. There are many private collections that are in Washington and the surrounding community that we are trying to (hopefully) acquire that will fundamentally change, for the positive, what we as a community have to offer in telling our region’s history.

I envision the City of Washington as the sole guardian of these collections, insured, as well as would have them under the protection of the municipality. The Museum and all of its collections would be owned, operated, and protected by the City of Washington. We would like to encompass not only Washington’s history but also a vast swath of the Tar and Pamlico River region, from Tarboro to Ocracoke. We are currently envisioning the Museum housed in a historic building, downtown, close to small businesses, and within walking distance of the Estuarium. This will improve tourism; walkability, the ability to promote education, as well as promote business across our City."

When asked what other organizations have been participating in the conversation about starting a history museum in town, Farrell says the City (including Brown Library) is working closely with the Historic Port of Washington Project, the Washington Waterfront Underground Railroad Museum, history professionals, as well as private stakeholders and volunteers.

"We’d like to bring all of our community’s history to one centralized location, for everyone to learn and enjoy what the City of Washington has to offer."

Farrell says that they are currently looking at the Peterson Building located on West Main Street as it presently has unused space, and is already owned and operated by the City. "We are looking to promote eastern North Carolina history, a history we can all agree is exciting, and fundamental to our identity as a community. The museum will promote our area’s history dating back hundreds of years, to include our indigenous population’s history here in eastern North Carolina all the way to the present.

We want to encompass everyone’s past. We want to be very inclusive in how we promote our history because our history does include everyone. Every demographic has promoted and built Washington into what it is today. We owe it to those previous generations to remember their sacrifices, to memorialize them, and to never forget how we got to where we are today."

Farrell says the City and the organizations involved have worked tirelessly for the last six months, having just received approval for phase one of the project, and are hoping within the next year or so to begin the process of combining, and archiving their collections together, as well as accepting new collections in order to "formulate a world-class museum experience" for locals and visitors alike.

"The history and education facility will only be an addition to what we already have here in Washington. We have many extremely rare collections that are housed all over town. There is no central location to see them or view them or learn from them. By incorporating [all of these collections of interest to all ages], this will also bring everyone together in creating a centralized, larger community attraction for tourism and outreach alike."

The project would be overseen by the City, but would also include funding from grants and donations. Being under the City, it "gives the community assurance that their collections will be housed and protected in perpetuity."

Washington is truly a historical hub; with significance not only to our state, but to the nation as a whole. We should preserve, promote, and learn from it.

After all, Washington’s motto is "Pride in the past; faith in the future."

For anyone who wants to support the museum endeavor, Farrell recommends contacting elected officials to voice that support for the project.

For questions concerning the museum project, e-mail Stephen at sfarrell@washingtonnc.gov.