» When a Community is a Family: Preserving Our Histories
This blog post is written by Nate Hubler, one of the Avery Research Center’s Liberatory Literacies Project Archivists.
Preserving family history is a labor of love that can be just as time consuming and demanding as it is fulfilling and rewarding. Oftentimes, the work of preservation and archiving might not even be something that we are actively thinking about. It is easy to think that our histories are safe and always within reach; after all, the family photos and scrapbooks are stored safely in the attic, a handful of family members know all the important stories, and family heirlooms have already been passed down from generation to generation for decades.
Unfortunately, this seeming ease of access to our family histories can lull us into a false sense of security when it comes to ensuring that future generations will have the same access to our family history that we do. Heat and humidity can slowly wreak havoc on photographs; family members can slowly forget details in the stories they have always told; and heirlooms can lose their context as they are passed from one generation to the next.
Sometimes, the truly unthinkable happens, family members pass away before we can ask all the questions we wish we had answers to, or entire communities containing numerous different family histories are torn asunder by external forces beyond their control. This is why it is important to be proactive in preserving the materials and stories we want to pass from one generation to the next, but it is never too late to act.
One collection at the Avery Research Center that emphasizes this point is the Borough Project collection. This collection documents the history of the Ansonborough Homes, a public housing community, commonly called “The Borough” by its residents, located on the East Side of Charleston. The 2002 project was spearheaded by sisters, and long-time Borough residents, Catherine Braxton and Rebecca Campbell following the unexpected demolition of the community.
The Borough was a thriving community for over forty years, but the discovery of contaminated soil at a city playground across the street from the northern border of the property in July 1989 and extensive damage and flooding from Hurricane Hugo in September 1989 eventually led to the Charleston Housing Authority deciding to cease operations in the community, relocate any remaining residents, and demolish the homes on the property. This decision was sudden change compared to February 1989 correspondence from Charleston officials expressing their desire to modernize the homes.
For those unfamiliar with oral history, the Oral History Association defines oral history as “a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving, and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events.”[1] Before the academy developed the term “oral history,” communities have always passed down information, histories, and traditions orally from generation to generation. Conducting oral histories with former Borough residents offered a chance to document what the Borough was, its significance to its residents, and its impact on their lives.
For the duration of the 2002 Spoleto Festival, 25 total oral histories were conducted. They were done with former residents and with a student who helped facilitate the interviews throughout the project. The oral histories offered the participants the opportunity to share their experiences growing up in the community and how it shaped them. Through their stories, we hear about the community baseball team, the different shops and businesses that they frequented as kids, and what it felt like growing up on the East Side.
The interviews all end with each participant discussing their thoughts on the importance of the Borough Project’s efforts to document and preserve their community’s history. Through their answers, it is made clear that they want people to be able to access the Borough in the future even if the homes that once lined the community’s blocks are no longer standing. There is also an air of appreciation for the Project itself because it not only provided participants with a chance to reflect on the community that helped shape them, but a chance to find comfort and guarantee the history be preserved at the Avery Research Center despite losing the community many called home for years.
While the Borough Project was on a community scale, the work done by the project and the emotions seen at the end of many of the oral history interviews are illustrative of many families’ experiences while preserving their own history. It can feel difficult to know where to start, but just by taking one step at a time it can offer a chance to bring family members together, reflect on the past, and ensure it is preserved for future generations. Conducting oral history interviews with family members also offers a rare opportunity to bring more voices into a family archive and ensure all perspectives are preserved. If you’re unsure how to approach conduction family oral histories, the Lowcountry Oral History Initiative has an excellent toolkit that walks people through each step of the process.
October is American Archives Month which, along with the cooling temperatures and shorter days, makes it a great time to begin creating a plan for preserving your own family history! If you are interested in learning more about the next steps to take, join the Avery Research Center later this month on October 29th from 12 – 1 PM EST for a brown bag discussion with local families about their journeys preserving their own histories. Avery’s website also has a comprehensive guide for anyone looking to start their own family or community archive. As always, the most important step is simply getting started!
Footnotes
[1] “Oral History: Defined.” Oral History Association, October 15, 2025. https://oralhistory.org/about/do-oral-history/.
Image Citations
Photograph of Borough demolition with door standing open amid debris, circa 1990-1999, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Box 1, Folder 13, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Photograph of Borough building 9, circa 1990-1999, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Box 1, Folder 13, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Photograph of the side of a Borough building, circa 1990-1999, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Box 1, Folder 13, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Letter from Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. to Carl Caughman regarding the modernization of Ansonborough Homes, February 21, 1989, AMN 1206 Borough Project Collection, Box 1, Folder 1, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Letter from Yv̀onne Fortenberry to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, February 21, 1989, AMN 1206 Borough Project Collection, Box 1, Folder 1, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Screenshot of Philip Simmons oral history interview, May 30, 2002, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Screenshot of Olabelle McPherson oral history interview, May 30, 2002, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Screenshot of Daniel Martin Jr. oral history interview, June 3, 2002, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Clinton Lucas survey card, 2002, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Box 1, Folder 16, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Delores Frost survey card, 2002, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Box 1, Folder 16, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Marie Brown survey card, 2002, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Box 1, Folder 16, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Margaret Kinloch survey card, 2002, AMN 1206 Borough Project collection, Box 1, Folder 16, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Neiger, Eve. Graphic for American Archives Month. American Archives Month. Society of American Archivists, n.d. Accessed October 9, 2026.
Avery Research Center. Family Archives: Preserving Family History. Avery Research, n.d. Accessed October 9, 2026.