A partnership of Nelson Heritage Center and Oakland, The Nelson County Museum of History


Nelson County Oral History Center (NCOHC) is a collaborative effort between two incorporated non-profit
organizations in Nelson; the Millennium Group and the Oakland Museum. The executive committee is comprised of
two members of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Group and two members of the Board of Directors of the
Oakland Museum and one member who is on both boards.

The Center's objectives are to produce and provide access to oral histories collected from seniors 80 years of age
and above; histories from those citizens who experienced  Integration of  the Nelson County Public School System
and the effects  Hurricane Camille* left on the county.

Each interview for the Center's collection must be accompanied by a signed release form (available at center). The
Center’s staff, summer interns and volunteers will transcribe tapes, set up and conduct interviews, as time and
finances allow. These oral histories will reflect the   Center's mission.

A central goal of the Oral History Center is to serve as a repository of the African American experience in Nelson
County. To this end, the Millennium Group, located in Nelson Heritage Center, has received (and anticipates more)
contributions from former administrators, teachers, students and community members in  the  form of  books,
photographs, memorabilia and manuscripts.

This project has received grant  support  from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation  (CACF). This grant
has and will be used in the future to catalog  and display these contributions. The center  has also purchased
equipment (cameras, accessories and an IMAC computer) that is currently being used  to edit  footage. The grant  
enabled us to decorate and furnish an interview room in which many of our interviews are conducted.

Data collected, (audio/video) will be displayed at the center, which is targeted to open mid-September of 2009. This
exhibit will serve as a major source of pride to residents of this community.  This museum/library will also serve as a
major research center for scholars, students and other individuals interested in the educational experiences of
African Americans in general and Nelson County citizens in particular.



*Exhibit on display at Oakland Museum
on U.S. Highway 29
three miles south of Lovingston, Virginia
Committee Members:
Peter Agalesto, Carolyn Albritton, Woody Greenberg, Mary F. Rose, Edith Wardlaw

Summer Interns 2008
Courtney Profitt (University of Virginia)
Abigail Haymes (University of Virginia)

Summer Interns 2009
Olivia Hudson (University of Virginia )
Gabrielle Ellis (Radford University)