Museum esapes Helene, but historical documents, pictures lost to flood

Nov. 7—While the Museum of Haywood County History, also known as the Shook House, remains intact after the flood, nearly two feet of water inundated the nearby Visitor Center, damaging furniture and books, and destroying pieces of history.

"Our Visitor Center is a strategic component of our operations," said Mike McLean, president of The Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society, which owns the property, in a press release. "Without it, we are crippled in our ability to do research, welcome our guests, create exhibits, and conduct business. Our exhibit on The American Revolution had been up for one week before the flood. Now the Visitor Center sits empty and in a state of disrepair."

In past years, when floodwaters surged through Clyde, the elevated railroad tracks near the museum acted as a levee, holding the water back at their foundation.

"We thought, 'well, we've survived in the past, and so it's probably going to be okay, the railroad tracks are what saves us.' Well, this year, that wasn't the case for this event," said June Jolley-Smathers, treasurer for HCH&GS.

Digging out displays

Volunteers came in the day after, equipped with fish brooms and squeegees to sop up the water that had engulfed the floor of the Visitor Center. Working alongside each other were museum docents, Daughters of the Revolution members, and volunteers from Pinnacle Church that had caravanned in to help.

"They were carrying out books and bookcases and the wet furnishings out and trying to just help us get the building vacated," Jolley said.

One of the doors to a display unit was so warped that volunteers wedged a crowbar to tear it into pieces to access the contents inside, only to find mold on the items.

Advisors from the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and Museums in Partnership did a site visit to help evaluate damaged documents and artifacts; however, few items were salvageable.

"We were able to save a lot of the documents, several things, using their advice, but some things were just too far gone when you threw in all the mud and silt," Jolley said.

History lost

Since the Visitor Center is largely where research on the museum's artifacts is conducted, various items were tucked into drawers and cabinets — some intended for display, others with rich backstories and still the subject of ongoing research.

There were also reference books essential to genealogical research that were lost. Jolley said they attempted to dry them out, but the thickness of the books made it impossible.

"We lost a large collection of historical and biblical church books," Jolley said. "Some of them were from the late 1800s."

Old photographs and newspapers that had been laid in drawers were rippled or completely destroyed by the floodwaters.

"There were a lot of photographs that we had that were damaged," Jolley said. "We had a whole drawer of photos that were unidentified, people in them that we didn't know who they were, and we were trying to figure that out."

Along with furnishings in the building, many retail items that had been boxed up on the center's floors were soaked.

"Due to the mold that quickly set in, we were unable to save them," McLean said.

About 200 copies of the book "Haywood County: Portrait of a Mountain Community" and 48 copies of "A Heritage of Healing: The Medical History of Haywood County" were stashed in bottom shelves. Even with a plastic protective layer, the moisture had seeped in, warping the book pages.

"We did lay them out on a table to try to air dry them. And there's advice about putting them in a freezer to try to get the humidity out of them, so we've tried that," Jolley said, adding the group recently put up a big canopy and table, hoping to air dry the books by turning them page by page and getting help from sun's rays.

Fortunately, the museum has additional inventory of the books. As for the historical documents, the museum manager is working to quantify the total damages for a FEMA quote. Jolley noted that it's challenging to assess the value of some of the older documents and books.

With the help of an experienced sheetrock finisher from Ohio who was looking for sites where he could help, the museum was able to complete the sheetrock repairs. It is now seeking volunteers for painting. Those interested in volunteering can call the HCH&GS at 828-564-1044 and leave a message.

As of now the building is empty and all meetings are called off for the remainder of the year. The museum itself will not be open until April.