Dr. Jan’s Favorite Things

Did you know there are more than 57,000 artifacts in the Cape Fear Museum's collection? We have a wealth of stuff. Some of it is unique, like Nurse Rachel Loman's mess kit, which she had engraved with the names of all the women she sailed to war with during World War I. Other pieces are mass produced, like Gwendolyn Gray's shoes. All of the documents, photographs, and artifacts can help us tell the stories of our community.

In this video series, join Dr. Jan as she discusses some of her favorite things from the Museum's collection.

• Rachel Loman's Mess Kit
• Gwendolyn Gray's shoes
• Henry Galloway's medical papers
• Herbert Howard's Photos
• Augusta Mosley Cooper's suit
• Claude Howell's scrapbooks
• Historically important slavery documents
• Magnavox Odyssey
• Solomon sisters board games
• Ruth Faison Shaw finger painting kit
• Local yearbooks

About Our Historian

Jan Davidson earned her PhD from the University of Delaware in 2000. Her thesis explored the history of women workers on the Pennsylvania Railroad in World War I. Davidson worked at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (2000 to 2005) as the historian for the exhibit America on the Move, and is the co-author of On the Move, Transportation and the American Story. She has served as the Cape Fear Museum's historian since 2005. She performs research into a wide range of topics for exhibits and Museum programs. Dr. Davidson is particularly interested in African American history, and is currently working on a project exploring enslavement in New Hanover County.