Gathering a Community History
In the fall of 2023, the Gibsonville Public Library launched a project entitled “Gathering a Community History.” This project, sparked by a community conversation with members of the Faith Baptist Church, was conducted in partnership with FBC, the Gibsonville Museum and Historical Society, and the members and leadership of many other Black churches in the Gibsonville area with the goal of gathering and sharing the history of our local Black community.
After being awarded a grant from the State Library made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the library purchased the technology needed to safely scan photos and documents as well as recording equipment for collecting oral histories, and hired a part-time research assistant who worked closely with area churches, individuals, and organizations to record interviews and digitize documents and photos.
That collection of 86 photos, video interviews, and other materials gathered in the first year of the project and made available to the public through DigitalNC is intended to be a starting point for a continued community effort to gather and share the history of the Black community in the Gibsonville area.
2025 Juneteenth History Harvest
The Gibsonville Public Library and the Power + Place Collaborative are partnering to bring a History Harvest to the Town of Gibsonville’s 2025 Juneteenth event! Bring your historic photos or other materials to be scanned and added to the digital history collection that the Library started in 2023. The History Harvest will be in the Gibsonville Community Center from 10am-4pm on Saturday, June 14th.
If you have materials you would like to have added to this collection, please contact the library!