Brewton campus will bring history to life with day full of exhibits
Special to the Ledger
The Brewton campus of Coastal Alabama Community College will host the institution’s first ever Living History Day on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, featuring dozens of community organizations, historical and genealogical societies, and live demonstrations. The event is being organized by the Coastal Alabama Historical Society, a student organization who partners with the Escambia County Historical Society to promote learning in new and expansive ways.
The Coastal Alabama Living History Day is a free event and will be held in and around the Brewton campus gymnasium from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — all are welcome to come.
“We want to share a love and passion for history with our students and with our community and to promote that history education for folks young and old,” said Brett Chancery, one of the Coastal Alabama’s history instructors who helped organize the event. “Our goal is to have something of interest for everyone.”
More than 40 organizations have been invited to participate, including but not limited to the Battleship U.S.S. Alabama, the Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, the Alabama Historical Commission, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, and the Poarch Creek Indians. A full list of participants can be found below.
Attendees of the Brewton event will be treated to a variety of educational experiences, including a raku pottery firing, historic woodworking and much more. The event is being held during homecoming week at the college.
“Don't be surprised if you see a soldier from the War of 1812 or World War II walking around, or a pioneer woman doing laundry,” he said. “One of the arguments I continually make in my history classes is that while things like technology change, the one thing that doesn't change is human nature. So history reveals humanity.”
Organizing the event has been a collaborative effort, bringing multiple departments of Coastal Alabama Community College together, ranging from the college’s Library Services to the Art and Music departments. The college’s administration has been supportive of event and its community outreach. Community support in Brewton is a key facet of organizing anything on campus, Chancery said, and so much so that events like the Living History Day tend to grow organically from the relationships that already exist between Coastal Alabama Community College and the surrounding area.
“The Brewton campus has always been a central part of our community,” he said. “They support us, and we support the community. It’s a great partnership.”
Coastal Alabama Living History Day participants will include:
Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, Alabama Folklife Association, Alabama Historical Commission, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Alger-Sullivan Historical Society, Atmore Historical Society, Auburn University History Department, Baldwin County Department of Archives and History, Baldwin County Genealogical Society, Baldwin County Historical Society & Friends of the Fairhope Museum of History, Canoe Civic Club, Coastal Alabama Community College History Department, Coastal Alabama Library Services, Colonial Fort Condé, Daughters of the American Revolution, Escambia County Historical Society, Flannel and Floral, Fort Mims Restoration Association, Gee’s Bend Quilters, Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Historic Blakely State Park, Holmes Medical Museum, Jay Historical Society, Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum, Longleaf Energy Group, Monroe County Museum, Moundville Archaeological Park
National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico, National Naval Aviation Museum
Negro Southern League Museum, Perdido Vineyards, Pioneer Life, Poarch Creek Indians
Rosa Parks Museum, Santa Rosa Historical Society, Southwest Alabama Beekeepers Association, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, University of Mobile History Department, University of South Alabama Archaeology Department, University of West Florida Historic Trust and USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park.
For more information, contact Chancery at 251-809-1609.
