A University of Arkansas - Fort Smith student is preserving Fort Smith’s history by
bringing it to the twenty-first century.
Historical interpretation major Jerry Wing of Cedarville is currently interning through UAFS with the Sebastian County Circuit Clerk’s Records Office in partnership with the county’s Sherriff’s Office, where he is archiving and preserving documents.
The documents, which date back to 1860, include dockets, receipts, dispositions, subpoenas and warrants the department issued from the end of the Civil War until 1910. Wing is scanning and digitizing the deteriorating and mostly handwritten documents with the help of UAFS faculty members Dr. Steve Kite and Tom Wing, assistant professors of history, and Dr. Kevin Jones, associate professor of English.
Jones said the work will create a digital resource that will preserve history for future generations.
“This archive will be a treasure trove for researchers, historians, students, and eventually the general public,” Jones said. “The original documents will remain the property of Sebastian County, while UAFS will benefit from having direct access, organizing, cataloguing originals and constructing digital formats available for research for others in the near future, and focusing on the study of these documents for years to come.”
The digital archive will be invaluable for local historians, but Wing is also taking pains to preserve the original documents. Many of the papers are folded, which stress the material and accelerate deterioration. Wing is unfolding the documents and sheathing them in two sheets of acid-free paper to prolong their lifespan.
His internship runs the length of the spring semester, but an estimated 10,000 documents needing to be scanned guarantees the work will extend far past May. While he’s only handling a snapshot of the documents during his internship, he has come in contact with a side of Fort Smith history unseen by most -- a history told through receipts, wills, jury documents, subpoenas and writs.
“I came into this internship assuming we’d see names of prominent Fort Smith citizens going back to the Civil War, but what I didn’t expect to find were glimpses of these people’s lives through receipts of stores they went to or owned, or the other business records that are showing up in this case,” Wing said. “One thing I’m learning is there are multiple angles and uses for a resource like this. It tells a story of Fort Smith that hasn’t been told before.”
With so many documents needing to be scanned, Jones said the work ensures a lengthy collaboration with the county.
“The amount of documents ensures this will be a long-term partnership between UAFS and Sebastian County officials,” Jones said. “The benefits of archiving and providing access to these documents are immeasurable.”