COLUMBUS — Nesbitt Memorial Library (NML) in Columbus is celebrating the completion of a grand renovation with a ribbon- cutting ceremony Thursday, Feb. 16, from 4 to 6 p.m. Fresh changes blanket almost every inch of the interior. New shelving poised on colorful updated flooring and a totally new kitchen facility will be showcased along with the NML Archives.
One of the special features of the grand opening is guided tours of the archive vault used to collect and preserve original historical materials significant to Columbus, Colorado County and the surrounding area. It’s extraordinary that Columbus has such a unique and fantastic facility housing historic documents and photos. This is your opportunity to discover another reason why visitors from all over the US travel with the archives listed as a target destination. They are most frequently surprised by the grand archive nesting at the library. Few cities of any size can boast about the size and exquisite organization of the collection used for genealogy and historical research.
Beginning in 1970, the archives were housed in the Colorado County Courthouse. Miss Lee Nesbitt and the Colorado County Historical Commission were instrumental in creating a home for the archival treasures in 1987 by expanding NML.
The amount and organization of historical materials were overwhelming to dedicated volunteers in those early days of relocation. In 2019, The Wade Family Foundation funded new state-of-the-art shelving to make better use of the space and enhance the ability to locate spe- cific documentation. The sliding shelving allowed for 100% more storage and easier access. Roger Wade, an NMLF board member, continues to work with members of the NML Foundation to fund improvements.
Requests to use the archives have come from many far-away places for a myriad of purposes, especially genealogy and Texas history research. Local and distant researchers are asked to make an appointment before of their visit in order to have a library staff member available to help locate items. This also makes it possible to do preliminary pre-research which is extremely helpful to the researcher.
As a guest during the grand opening on Feb. 16, from 4 to 6 p.m., no appointment is necessary for your tour of the archives and more.
You will get to see the amazing storage vault and witness some of the many ways “evidence of the past" is stored and filed. For ex ample, historical photographs are stored as original photographs, digital copies, identification of people, date, location, etc. Local volunteers like Tracey Wegenhoft, secretary of the NML Foundation, have been diligently adding to the collection of historical photographs when people donate their photographs or allow Wegenhoft to make a digital scan of the vintage photograph to ensure its preservation for future generations.
NML has the most comprehensive collection of Colorado County genealogy materials and a useful collection of genealogy materials regarding Texas and the states of the southern United States. The collection includes the census schedules for Colorado and the four surrounding counties (Austin, Fayette, Lavaca and Wharton), some local church records, family files, and a num ber of land, military, and immigration records.
The archives have more than 7,000 photographs, 50 collections of documents, copies (mostly on microfilm) of every extant issue of every known Colorado County newspaper, school annuals, and a large collection of maps of the county and its communities.
NML is a FamilySearch affiliate library that allows guests to access to additional records that they cannot access at home. Visitors also may search Ancestry.com while at the library.
Are there any items on the Archive “wish list”? Another range of shelving is needed as the contents keep growing. Wegenhoft added, “We need to purchase professional software called ‘Past Perfect’ to begin adding our archive photos and manuscript collections on the web accessibility. These are exciting times for us to grow even more.”
