Historic documents that have not been seen in over a century are finding renewed life as part of a restoration program at Missouri State University. KSMU’s Theresa Bettmann tells us more about Thursday presentation on campus that highlighted the collaborative preservation project and what it means for the region.
MSU President Cliff Smart welcomed Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, who received details on the Southwest Missouri Records Preservation Program. The internship program includes the preservation of numerous 19th century court documents.
“The Missouri state archives, which I am proud to say is housed in my office, as well as MSU and the Barry County Circuit Court share a commitment to preserving and increasing access to the rich history of southwest Missouri,” says Kander.
Barry County is the only southern border county to have a relatively complete set of records surviving numerous fires and the Civil War.
The program provides a learning opportunity for students, who become part of the archival process. It assists local governments by preserving records at no cost. Kander says the project with Barry County is just the beginning.
“My office’s local records program now has a secure project site on MSU’s campus. And with the help of these talented interns projects will move through quickly,” Kander says.
Once documents are cleaned and processed by the interns they are added to state archives by supervising archivists. There the documents are put on microfilm and digital imaging. The originals documents will be returned to Barry County.
Future projects include documentation of the history of Route 66.
