Trinity College Historical Society

In 1892, Dr. Stephen B. Weeks, a professor of history at Trinity College, organized the Trinity College Historical Society. The goals of the Society were to collect, arrange, and preserve written materials and artifacts illustrative of the history of North Carolina and the South, and to promote the study of Southern history through lectures and publications. Active membership in the Society was open to anyone connected with Trinity College or to citizens of North Carolina, while corresponding membership included any persons in any part of the world who were promoters of the study of history. In its early years, the Society benefited from the strong leadership of two history professors, John Spencer Bassett and William Kenneth Boyd. They made wide appeals for donations of historical materials and maintained a museum to house these relics. The meetings of the Society, held several times each year, provided a forum at which students and faculty could read their research papers and discuss their ideas. Speakers were also invited to give addresses on a wide variety of historical topics. The best of these papers were published, from 1897 to 1956, in the Historical Papers of the Trinity College Historical Society. The Trinity College Historical Society Collection contains material about the Society's activities until 1981. Although there is no documentation on the official end of the Society, the Richard L. Watson, Jr., Papers held by Duke University Archives contains meeting announcements and notes about the Trinity College Historical Society until 1986.

From the guide to the Trinity College Historical Society Collection, ., [1492?] - 1981, (University Archives, Duke University)

In 1892, Stephen B. Weeks, a professor of history at Trinity College, organized the Trinity College Historical Society. The goals of the Society were to collect, arrange, and preserve written materials and artifacts illustrative of the history of North Carolina and the South, and to promote the study of Southern history through lectures and publications. The Society benefited from the strong leadership of two history professors, John Spencer Bassett and William Kenneth Boyd. They made wide appeals for donations of historical materials and maintained a museum to house these relics. The meetings of the Society, held several times each year, provided a forum at which students and faculty could read their research papers and discuss their ideas. The best of these papers were published, from 1897 to 1956, in the HISTORICAL PAPERS OF THE TRINITY COLLEGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

From the description of Trinity College Historical Society collection, [1492?]-1981. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 55635812