By Mikayla Hamilton

Word Master Media Group

When I step into the Martin-Wall History Room, the air is cold.

Marcia Phillips, however, greets me warmly with the first piece of knowledge out of the many she will offer.

The History Room is kept at 65°F to properly preserve the centuries of Davie County history that live within its walls. “Because there’s no museum yet in Davie County,” Phillips says, “[the History Room] is the sole repository for history.”

Sixty years ago, Flossie Martin and James Wall founded what is now the History Room as an archive, accumulating documents, letters, photos, and other historical records. Over time, it has grown into “the everything history room,” as Phillips calls it. The room is lined from wall to wall with display cases, genealogy research stations, bookshelves, and filing cabinets brimming with historical documents.

Phillips is the History Room Assistant. With a master’s degree in historic preservation from Eastern Michigan University, Phillips returned to her hometown in Davie County 12 years ago. She brought with her an education and years of experience in historical education and preservation, serving as a teacher workshop administrator at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan and later at Old Salem in Winston-Salem.

Her passion for engaging with history led her to the History Room even before she began working there.

The wall-to-wall, chest-high filing system might seem intimidating, but Phillips describes these cabinets as “the real treasure chests of the room.” Inside these meticulously organized drawers are decades of Davie history. Phillips opens one drawer to reveal a newspaper from the Great Depression era, complete with a pinto bean pie recipe.

If you don’t find what you’re looking for in the files, it might be hiding in one of the reference volumes lining the bookshelves –  marriage certificates, sheriff records, and family histories dating back as far as 1676. For anyone tracing their Davie ancestry, the room is a goldmine of information.

A mechanical whine draws attention to the printer, working hard to serve the room’s research needs. In the Map Corner, you’ll find detailed maps showing the physical transformation of the county over the centuries. From property lines drawn in the 18th century to Revolutionary War scribblings, these maps allow visitors to walk through Davie County’s history—sometimes even tracking down ancestral lands.

Phillips values the preservation of history because it helps people connect with their roots. A large display case houses Native American tools and weapons found in Davie, some dating back as far as 8000 BCE. Schoolchildren visiting the room are drawn to the impressive atlad and the arrowheads on display.

The People Not Property (PNP) Project is uncovering the names of enslaved individuals forgotten in the historical record. TVolunteers at the History Room have been working the files alphabetically for over a year and are only up to last names beginning with B.  Volunteers are always welcome whenever the library is open.

Phillips provides instructions on how to go through the files and find information. “We can’t rewrite history,” she said. “What we can do is use what the past has left behind to uncover long-hidden family trees and give people back their names.”

In the History Room, names and stories from the past are unlocked through well-preserved documents and artifacts. Phillips shows an old photo of a group of men standing in front of the courthouse, ready to be relocated. Thanks to an old memoir, a blur in the photo is identified as a dog named Bob, forever remembered alongside his master.

Unfortunately, space in the History Room is limited. Historical tools and large artifacts like a handmade secretary desk and a historical rope bed are awkwardly tucked away due to space constraints.

Many more artifacts, including Civil War-era weapons, are stored in the vault because there’s not enough room to display them.

Thanks to historians like Flossie Martin, James Wall, and Marcia Phillips, our history is preserved for countless more years of study and appreciation.

“Without historians, history [just] gets sold on eBay or hung on a Cracker Barrell wall,” Phillips said.

If you have any items of local historical significance, consider donating them to the History Room to be kept in a safe environment and made available for the enjoyment and education of others. Donations like local artwork and small artifacts tell stories that bring history to life. Photographs and family Bible records can be copied from your original, and the information can be kept in the Room.

Even oral histories for future generations to learn from the past are valuable.

If you or someone you know has old family stories or memories to share, contact the History Room to make an appointment to discuss donations or to receive preservation advice from a trained preservationist.

Phillips dreams of expanding the History Room into a museum where Davie’s rich history can be displayed and appreciated.

Imagine walking through a museum and seeing the uniforms worn by local heroes like Peggy Haneline Branham, who played the clarinet in the Mocksville High School band, or Avery Foster, North Carolina’s first Black deputy sheriff.

Through her work, Phillips ensures that the unique history of Davie County is preserved for future generations. The History Room, with its wealth of records and artifacts, shows that history doesn’t just happen in big places—it happens right here, down the road from where we live.

Those interested in Davie County history may enjoy checking out the Davie County Historical and Genealogical Society. They host monthly events.

This fall, they have a focus on Peter Ney, a Mocksville teacher from France who may or may not have served under Napoleon and cleverly escaped execution. On Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m., a French documentary on Peter Ney will be viewed in the Library’s Multi-Purpose Room.

The History Room is open for research and exploration whenever the library is open. Help yourself with reference books, files, computers, and map collection, or schedule an appointment with Phillips if you would like a guide to help you traverse backward along the wheel of time.

As the library touts of the History Room, “You never know what you might discover!”