See AWARDS

from Banner-News 4-22-21

by Community First Media

The Belmont Historical Society Museum is located at 40 E. Catawba St. in downtown Belmont. Photos by Alan Hodge Maurice Blackburn with the Piedmont Fiber Guild did a weaving demonstration at a pre-COVID Living History Day.

Keep Belmont Beautiful folks Roger Edwards, Judy Closson, Susan Wall, Marie Turner, Beryl Campbell, and Al Wall sold plants at the pre-COVID BHS event in 2019.

Look for this and more NC pottery at the museum.

HISTORICAL

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The grand reopening will be celebrated with a Living History Day event on the museum grounds and inside the museum building (the 1899 R.L. Stowe, SR. House).

“We are very excited to be open again,” said BHS member Elizabeth Atterberry. “We are looking forward to a big Living History Day event.”

There will be a plethora of displays and demonstrations at the Living History Day. Outside, visitors can view a display of Native American artifacts collected locally by Jack Page (a BHS founding member). World War II reenactor Al Kirby will have his display of uniforms, arms and equipment where folks can see what our fighting men wore and used back then. Piedmont Fiber Guild members will show how folks made cloth and other textiles way back when. Smitty Hanks will have beekeeping display set up. Leigh Ford will have information of the historic Smith Cemetery.

Wait, there’s more. Basket making by Nancy Duffie, miniature steam engines by Bob Atterberry, lead casting figures by Greg Edel will also be on site. The Elements of Empowerment and Southern Piedmont Chapter of NC Native Plants groups will be represented. In addition, Gary Griffin and Jean Stowe Humphrey will talk about what their ancestors did during the Great Flood of 1916. Also look for plant sales pickups by Keep Belmont Beautiful.

Indoors, the BHS Museum has several new and exciting items on display. One is an antique spinning wheel from the Armstrong ancestral farm on South Point Rd. Another item is the antique medicine cabinet that was once used in Belmont Drugstore. The piece was donated by Dr. Charles McAdams III. In addition, there will be a display of NC pottery.

Mask wearing and social distancing will be at the discretion of attendees.

About the BHS

The Belmont Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the history of the city of Belmont, NC and its immediate surrounding area. The BHS records the places, the people, and the times from the past that have made Belmont the community that it is. The BHS traces Belmont from the early days, (even before its original name of Garibaldi), through the years as a textile manufacturing giant, to the current days of a growing community of interesting people and places. Belmont, NC has a well documented history via the written word from books, photographs and stories passed on by word of mouth…some not yet captured for the citizens of the future. Come in and see the huge collections of photos, videos, books and artifacts obtained from the citizens of the Belmont community.

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These youths did an adult sized job at the Baltimore School workday. Photos by Alan Hodge

BALTIMORE which were built during the 1920s by Stuart CraFrom Page 1 mer. These days, a flock of free range chickens and sit on the benches that forms a cackling and are still inside. Fred Kirby crowing welcoming commit(WBTV singing cowboy star) tee as you drive along. would come and put on shows The Baltimore School for us. He would park his served African-American horse trailer at the end of the children first through eighth street and ride Calico to the grades. From there, the kids neighborhood. We also had went to Reid High in Belfish fries.” mont. The school continued

Where and what is the to operate until integration Baltimore section of Cramer- came along. Once that hapton and what purpose did the pened, the African-American school serve? students from Baltimore were

Baltimore is a tiny cor- transferred to schools in Belner of Cramerton wedged mont and Cramerton. between the base of Cramer The school was nothing Mtn. and the South Fork fancy. A potbellied stove River. It is where the town’s provided heat. Students sat African-America citizens at wooden desks. There were mostly lived. Baltimore St. is no steps. Kids had to jump off not much over 100 yards long the porch and get pulled back and with a couple of even up by classmates. Books were shorter side streets branch off second-hand ones from white and dead end. There are just a schools. couple dozen small homes on Today, the Baltimore the narrow pavement, most of School is an abandoned

Cramerton mayor Will Cauthen employs the leaf blower.

wooden building with basically one large room. There’s a porch on the front corner. Inside, there are several original benches, one desk, and a couple of old washing machines. The windows are blacked and there’s soot on the ceiling. On the bright side, the original clapboards and foundation are in good shape. The roof was replaced several years ago. In other words, a solid core is there for a restoration project.

Glenn has a dream for the future of the Baltimore School. Possible uses for the building could include a small museum or a community gathering place.

“If you think about it, the school was our community center,” he said.

Last year, the Town of Cramerton Commissioners passed a resolution giving the school a local historic designation. The historical significance of school has also received approval from the North Carolina Dept. of Archives and History. The Baltimore School has also officially been designated as a Historic Site in Gaston County. It’s the first Gaston County Historical Preservation Site in Cramerton. A plaque was recently placed on the side of the school proclaiming its historic status.

The next step for the preservation of the Baltimore School will be raising funds through donations and grants. To get things going, a Go Fund me site has been set up at https://gofund.me/7c68c804.

Cramerton Community Committee leader Wendy Cauthen, Baltimore School building owner Fred Glenn, Ernestine Glenn, Mayor Will Cauthen and the historic designation plaque.