Polk County Historical Association (PCHA) announces the completion of a new, informative, colorful website. Please visit us online at polknchistory.org.

The purposes of PCHA are to promote, advance, encourage and cultivate interest in history and to provide a museum for the collection and preservation of local artifacts. In order to achieve our purposes, PCHA has created a website so that local residents and visitors can be better informed about our organization and museum.

The new website includes information about us (board of directors, curator, current projects, photographs and a blog). It includes links to other resources of local interest such as Polk County government, N.C. Archives, tourism office, and Civil War Search.

The PCHA Museum Store is prominently featured on the site for the purchase of local historical sources, books by local authors, historical CDs, and other items.

A 400-page book, “Polk County, North Carolina History,” is the best-selling book we offer containing articles about various communities in the county including Columbus, Tryon, Saluda, Green Creek, Stony Knoll, Mill Spring, Pea Ridge, Holbert Cove, Lynn, and Cooper’s Gap. In addition, this book is filled with genealogical information about many of the long-time families in the area.

Some of the accomplishments of the PCHA are listed on the site. We have collected thousands of historical pictures and artifacts for preservation and education. PCHA Museum is beginning a genealogy library, which includes family histories and research; we invite those in the community who have compiled family information to contribute copies of their research to the PCHA collection. We have an ongoing oral history project in which we catalog audio or video recordings of life stories of older residents for posterity. As time and funds become available we will greatly expand our projects in the future.

The center of the Polk County History Association is located at the museum at 60 Walker Street. The museum is open to the public on Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission to the museum is free.

Our organization meets each month on the first Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. The public is cordially invited to attend PCHA meetings. We also invite all area residents to join PCHA to preserve our heritage and to educate others to appreciate our local culture.

– submitted by Marian Bryan