Highlighting History Video Series with Dr. Jan Davidson

Dr. Jan Davidson, our historian, is bringing the Museum to YOU in her Highlighting History video series. Dr. Jan showcases moments in our Cape Fear Stories exhibit. Cape Fear Stories explores the region's rich and complex history. Like the exhibit, our video series begins with Native American history and ends with a view of the 20th century.

• Native Americans in the region
• Colonial Store
• Naval stores and the longleaf pine tree
• Wilmington life before the Civil War
• Civil War era artifacts
• The Daily Record
• 20th century life
• Williston Industrial High School
• Museum Park

If you'd like to learn more, these links provide a more in-depth look at some of the stories discussed in the Highlighting History videos:

• Native Americans
• Naval Stores
• Violence of 1898
• Williston School is closed in 1968
• Desegregation after Williston closed
• Maritime history

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.