Preparing the Eastham Historical Society Archive's Collection for the 400th Anniversary of the First Encounter between the Nauset (Wampanoag) people and the Pilgrim settlers on December 8, 2020

FAIN: PG-266785-19

Eastham Historical Society (Eastham, MA 02642-0008)
Debra DeJonker-Berry (Project Director: February 2019 to present)

The rehousing of historical records and the completion of a disaster plan for the Eastham Historical Society (EHS) Archive, as recommended in a 2013 preservation assessment performed by the Northeast Document Conservation Center, which would provide a consultant to assist in the project. Dating to the eighteenth century and totaling more than 100 linear feet, the holdings consist of manuscripts, maps, pamphlets, bound volumes (including rare books), deeds, wills, maritime ledgers, journals, an indenture document, Civil War uniforms, and photographic prints, as well as a small amount of audiovisual material. Although EHS is open fewer than 119 days a year, its unpaid archivists annually assist some 160 researchers ranging from genealogists (including descendants of the Mayflower voyage) to visitors to the EHS site on “Digital Commonwealth,” the Massachusetts digital library platform.

The Town of Eastham is one of the oldest communities in the country and is situated in the middle of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. This grant would support the rehousing of materials in the Eastham Historical Society's (EHS) Archive, the purchase of storage furniture, registration for a disaster planning webinar, and the purchase of disaster response supplies. The goal is to complete this work in preparation for the Town of Eastham's commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the First Encounter between the Nauset (Wampanoag) people and the Pilgrim settlers on December 8, 2020.