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JUNE 1 - 7, 2022 UCW 13
history center, will be the state flag
and the U.S Flag. We will have no
statues or monuments."
Bryan noted that an organiza-
tion offered the committee money
in the center's early planning
stages if it agreed to house all
statewide Confederate statues at
the center.
"We said no. We will get the
money a different way," Bryan
said.
Healy explained the center
would feature cutting-edge inter-
active storytelling, and Anderson
elaborated on that concept focus-
ing on the power of those stories.
"is is a history center. We
are not going to be a collecting
museum. We will have several
artifacts in there, but only if they
continue further telling the story,"
Healy said.
"e history center will allow us
not only to be interactive, as Mac
[Healy] says but to tell a story; to
use the power of stories that come
from people who have a gen-
erational contact with all of this,"
Anderson said. "e history center
will allow us to make people feel
emotionally connected."
Anderson went on to relay an
anecdote about seeing a Ku Klux
Klan robe at the Civil Rights Mu-
seum in Greensboro.
"Wouldn't it be nice if there
were a story attached to this that
people could really understand
what the power of the Klan robe
is?" Anderson said.
e narratives in the center's
curriculum will represent and
belong to everyone in the state.
"e critical issue is this is going
to tell the story of everybody lo-
cated in the state of North Caro-
lina during a certain designated
period," Bryan said.
e center's goal is to collect 100
stories from each of 100 counties;
while they have not yet achieved
this, they are still actively collect-
ing and vetting stories from North
Carolinians.
According to Healy, the public
does not want to go to a museum
and read storyboards anymore.
ey want interactive museums.
"is is going to be that," he
said.
e "touch and feel" aspect of
the center contributes to the over-
all costs of the project, explained
Healy. In addition to the cutting-
edge technology and content,
nationwide increases in materials
and supply chain issues have con-
tributed to increasing costs.
Initially, the cost to build the
center was estimated at approxi-
mately $65 million, but since has
been estimated at about $80 mil-
lion. Last year, the North Carolina
General Assembly appropriated
$60 million for the project. Before
that, the committee raised money
from private contributors and se-
cured a commitment from the City
of Fayetteville City Council and
the Cumberland County Board of
Commissioners for $7.5 million
each.
According to Anderson, the
center will help make Fayetteville
a destination city.
Ralph Huff, a local philanthro-
pist and former owner of H&H
builders, a residential construc-
tion company, attended the
news conference and echoed
Anderson's remark. Huff said
Fayetteville could become a
weekend destination where visi-
tors spend several days walking
from one venue to another. Huff
referred to visitors walking to the
proposed downtown Arts & Enter-
tainment Center, Segra Stadium,
the Airborne and Special Opera-
tions Museum, and, finally, atop
Haymount Hill to the proposed
History Center.
e committee expects the
center to be an economic boon
for Cumberland County. A study
predating the building of Segra
Stadium projects that the center
will have an $18 million annual
economic impact and secure
about 200 jobs. Healy explained
that this positive impact might be
even higher with added amenities
such as Segra Stadium, increasing
the draw for visitors to downtown
Fayetteville.
Healy described the center as a
"world-class one-of-its-kind his-
tory center located in Fayetteville
for the state of North Carolina."
Among those scheduled to
participate in the third ground-
breaking ceremony is Spencer
Crew, Ph. D., emeritus director of
the National Museum of African
American History and Culture.
Crew is among a half dozen his-
tory scholars that Anderson noted
are associated with the center. e
scholars are writing and designing
a curriculum covering the years
1835 through the early 1900s for
the history center.
Healy said the 11 a.m. ground-
breaking ceremony marks the
start of construction for the cen-
ter's main building. For additional
information on the Civil War &
Reconstruction History Center, its
curriculum or the ground-break-
ing, visit nccivilwarcenter.org.
COVER STORY
An Interview with John C. Becton (CUMBERLAND)
https://nccivilwarcenter.org/an-interview-with-john-c-
becton/
During an interview, John Becton shared his and his
family's experiences in enslavement and after emanci-
pation. e son of Simon and Harriet Becton, he grew
up hearing their recollections, and remembered when
Sherman's army moved through Cumberland County,
N.C. in 1865.
"[H]e will come back to dixey again": A Letter of Re-
assurance from a Soldier to his Sister (LINCOLN)
https://nccivilwarcenter.org/he-will-come-back-to-
dixey-again-a-letter-of-reassurance-from-a-soldier-to-
his-sister/
F. Washington "Wash" Dellinger wrote this letter of
reassurance to his sister, Margaret Brown. Wash was a
Confederate soldier, as was Margaret's husband, Wil-
liam Brown. However, after being taken prisoner twice,
William took the Oath of Allegiance and joined the Union Army.
Daniel Nazareth was Daniel Huff, A Formerly En-
slaved Man Who Fought for the Union (Wayne)
https://nccivilwarcenter.org/daniel-nazareth-was-
daniel-huff-a-formerly-enslaved-man-who-fought-for-
the-union/
In 1865, Daniel Huff, an enslaved man who was born
in Georgia, escaped and joined Sherman's march north.
While in North Carolina, Huff changed his surname
to Nazareth and enlisted in Company K of the 135th
U.S.C.T.
e Winton-Triangle: A Mixed-Race Community's
Civil War (Hertford)
https://nccivilwarcenter.org/the-winton-triangle-a-
mixed-race-communitys-civil-war/
In February 1862, much of Winton, N.C. was burned
by Union Troops. Afterward, many local mixed-race
men responded by joining the U.S. Navy or the U.S.
Colored Troops. After the war, the community worked
to establish schools for people of color.
Jacob Bryant: A Documented Lumbee Indian Who
Fought in the Confederate Army (Robeson)
https://nccivilwarcenter.org/jacob-bryant-a-docu-
mented-lumbee-indian-who-fought-in-the-confeder-
ate-army/
Born in Robeson County, 36-year-old Jacob Bryant, a
Lumbee farmer, served as a substitute for I. Smith and
was mustered in Company G of the 61st North Carolina
Infantry.