Expanding the Mission #museummonday #capefearmuseum

The New Hanover County Museum and the Courthouse Annex

When the Museum reopened in the court house annex, two big institutional changes took place.

The institution’s mission changed. And so did the women’s group charged with running the place.

The U.D.C worked to bring their collection back to town. And members of the group were still involved in the reconstituted New Hanover County Museum.

But they no longer officially responsible for the institution. Instead, in 1930, the New Hanover Historical Commission turned the Museum's day to day administration over to Sorosis, another longstanding local woman’s group.

Sorosis float from About 1915.  The group organized in the 1890s. 

 

When Sorosis took over, the Museum’s mission shifted.
According to the newspaper, its goal was to collect “…every possible relic of Wilmington’s historic past, and things that have any interesting personal association that would be of general interest.”

The Museum still collected items relating to the Civil War.  But now, the Museum also collected other items of more general historical interest.

Antebellum nutmeg grater donated to Museum in 1930s

Sketch of Wilmington, dated 1837, given to Museum in 1936