Heritage Alliance Receives Grant for Photo Digitizing

The Jonesborough Washington County History Museum and Archives was recently awarded a grant for $1800 to digitize its extensive photographic and negative collection. The grant is funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) and administered by the Tennessee Historic Resources Advisory Board (THRAB) and Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA). Its purpose is to improve the preservation of and access to Tennessee’s historical records.

        

The collection spans the history of Jonesborough and Washington County from the first photographer in town, L.W. Keen c. 1850, to the beginning of the preservation movement in the 1970s and 1980s. It was built on the collection of the Civic Trust as well as the extensive Fink-Dulaney Collection, but also includes many donations by private individuals in the community.

We are constantly looking for new images to add to the collection, especially images from 1920 to 1970 which is the main gap. This grant will allow for digitizing these original images as well as expanding the collection by scanning new images added to the collection in the future. This will make the vast collection more accessible and better tell the story of Jonesborough and Washington County.