A recent donation from City Hall to the Glenn E. Martin Genealogy Library offers the public a glimpse at a rich, if less-than-noble, facet of the community’s history.
City officials, in the process of moving records from the old City Hall on North Jefferson Street to the new building on East Market Street, removed seven crates full of bound volumes of police court dockets, judgments, bail bond issues, warrants and other documents.
The documents date from as far back as January 1912 and end in 1977.
“There’s a lot of rich history in there,” said City Clerk Julie Key.
The only place to store the volumes in the new City Hall was in the basement, but that location was not an ideal place for the books, which were already beginning to deteriorate.
Key had a better idea — donating them to the genealogy library.
The city clerk contacted Library Director Judy Boaz and struck a deal, putting the books on permanent loan to the library.
“We’re very blessed that we’ve got the genealogy library here in town,” said Key.
The documents are all public record and are all permanent record. “We’re supposed to keep it forever,” she said.
Genealogy library assistant Linda Ward compiled a listing of all the volumes Tuesday, and officials are preparing to store them in the archival room of the library, located at the corner of West Main and South Harrison streets.
The archival room is climate-controlled, helping to ensure the documents will be preserved and lessening the damage caused by humidity.
“We’re thrilled to have them,” said Boaz. “We are pleased to be able to store those for the city.”
