Help the Museum of the Albemarle protect our state treasures by adopting an artifact requiring conservation. Your tax-deductible donation in any amount will help support the museum’s mission of preserving artifacts and historical materials relating to the history and heritage of northeastern North Carolina.
About the Program
When an artifact is identified as needing specialized conservation, Museum of the Albemarle staff will contact an accredited conservator with specific expertise in the type of material needing care. The conservator will do an assessment of the artifact and provide a detailed work proposal and cost estimate for the conservation work. Friends of the Museum of the Albemarle will begin fundraising and once donations reach the estimated cost of conservation, a contract between Friends of the Museum of the Albemarle and the conservator will be created.
Making a Donation
When donating, please specify the Adopt an Artifact program or the artifact you wish to adopt. Checks can be made out to:
Friends of the Museum of the Albemarle (FOMOA)
attn/memo: Adopt an Artifact
501 S. Water St.
Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Any donations received in excess of the final cost of an artifact’s conservation will be used toward the Adopt an Artifact program’s next artifact in need.
If you have questions about other artifacts or the Adopt an Artifact Program, contact Carrie Barker at 252-335-1453 or caroline.barker@dncr.nc.gov.
Artifacts from the museum's collection available for sponsorship:
This 1859 book, A Dictionary of the Holy Bible, is inscribed with “Mrs. M.A. Brooks”. According to the 1860 census, the only person in Elizabeth City with those initials was Margaret Ann Brooks, wife of George W. Brooks. Margaret Ann Costen of Gates County married Brooks in 1850. A prominent Whig and Unionist, George Brooks served in the antebellum state legislature. Appointed a federal district judge by Andrew Johnson in 1865, Brooks played a leading role in the “Kirk-Holden War” in 1870 by ordering the release of Colonel George W. Kirk’s prisoners. The book’s binding is damaged and missing its spine.
Estimated cost of conserving the book: $1275.
World War I jacket and cap worn by Walter Raleigh Parker of Northampton County. Raleigh served as a US Naval Reserve medical officer during World War I. Assigned to Hampton Roads, he performed physicals and other health check on sailors and marines in the Norfolk area especially during the outbreak of the Spanish influenza. Parker did was discharged in August 1919.
Estimated cost of conserving the jacket and cap: $1700.