UNF History Department Receives Historic Preservation Award

Joanna Norris, Assistant Director

Department of Media Relations and Events

(904) 620-2102

The Department of History at the University of North Florida was recognized by the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission with a 2010 Historic Preservation Award for its student internship program with the Jacksonville Historical Society. The award was presented May 6 during a ceremony at the Jacksonville Main Library Auditorium.

“The Department of History has been expanding its community-based internships over the past few years and we are honored to have been selected to receive this award from the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission,” said Dr. Dale Clifford, an Atlantic Beach resident and chair of UNF’s Department of History.

Internships give history majors at the University a chance to apply their historical skills in an off-campus setting. UNF and the Historical Society began their partnership in 2009 and the relationship is vital to sustaining the society’s mission of preserving and cataloging Northeast Florida history.

“This collaboration between the Jacksonville Historical Society and UNF’s history department has been a dynamic and mutually beneficial partnership,” said Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commissioner Richard Moore. “Students are given the opportunity to work with important collections that increase their knowledge base, while the Jacksonville Historical Society is able to offer public access to countless significant resources as they are discovered, cataloged and scanned.”

The 2010 Historic Preservation Award honors the work of two UNF history students, one a graduate student and the other a recent graduate, who have worked with the Jacksonville Historical Society on a long-term project to update and maintain the society’s archives.

Lauren Swain, a Riverside resident and UNF graduate student, began her internship this spring and focused her attention on the The Archibald Collection, which is comprised of rare pre-fire property records that include mortgage records, deeds, official record books, minute books and abstract books. Her work with The Archibald Collection is the first known inventory for this voluminous collection. Swain will continue her internship this summer, tackling the remaining numerous boxes to be processed.

The first intern, Robyn Bertram, who graduated from UNF last fall, completed her hands-on experience during the fall 2009 semester. She worked extensively in the archives, where she was able to gain insight on how an archival repository of mass volume is maintained. Bertram, an Intracoastal resident, also cataloged several family collections donated to the society, including maps, photographs, scrapbooks, and family diaries from the Merrill family associated with Merrill-Stevens Shipbuilding Company. Her work scanning and placing these items into the society’s Past Perfect system is a crucial step in allowing these objects—some of which date to the mid-1800’s—to be viewed by hundreds of people on the society’s Web site.

All of the history department’s internships are individually tailored to suit both the skills and interests of the student and the needs of the agency. Eligible student interns must complete The Craft of the Historian methods course and have at least a 3.0 grade point average in their history coursework.

Previous UNF history interns have worked with the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve, Kingsley Plantation, Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine Historical Society, St. Vincent’s Hospital archives, Museum of Science and History and a host of other public history projects.

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