Given Memorial Library & The Tufts Archives
To truly know and experience a place starts with getting to know its history. What better place to learn about Pinehurst, North Carolina than a visit to Given Memorial Library and The Tufts Archives. Call it a public library with a museum and archives, or a museum and archives with a public library. Either way its one of the coolest, unique places I’ve ever experienced.
The Tufts Archives
Few realize the amount of items housed in The Tufts Archives and the fact that one family, the Tufts, operated the Village of Pinehurst, its famed golf courses, and resort for over 75 years. The archives preserve and display Pinehurst’s key historical documents, photos, and artifacts as well as the Tuft’s family archives. These items date from Pinehurst’s founding, in 1895 by James Walker Tufts, to the present. The Given Memorial Library, where The Tufts Archives are housed, was established in 1963-64 and dedicated to John and Irene Heinz Given who spent many years in Pinehurst. It wasn’t until 1975 when the Tufts Family Foundation realized they needed an official home for their growing archives and collections that $450,000 was donated to build a museum-type wing onto the existing Given Memorial Library.
Allow yourself an hour or two on your first visit just to peruse the artifacts on display in The Tuft’s Archives, which will take you back in time into the rich history of Pinehurst. The collections are filed into four different catalogs: golf, photos, archives and objects. Among old trophies, original Tufts family soda fountain and turn-of-the-century artifacts, there are treasured “new” items as well, including the late Payne Stewart’s official 1999 U.S. Open score sheet. The collection is constantly evolving and knowledgeable staff and volunteers are always on hand to answer questions and assist with visitor’s requests.
If you’re a serious golf historian and researcher the archives are an invaluable resource. Here you’ll find a collection of over 80,000 historic photographs of which photo prints can be purchased. If you want to know more about famed golf course designer Donald Ross his golf course drawings, notes, and correspondences are housed here. One of the more interesting drawings is a vintage 1911 blueprint of the renowned Donald Ross-designed No. 2 course. If you’re not able to visit The Tufts Archives in person many items can be viewed online at: www.tuftsarchives.org
Take time to discover the rich and interesting history of Pinehurst and visit Given Memorial Library and The Tufts Archives located in the heart of the Village of Pinehurst on the Village Green. The library and archives are open Monday through Saturday and have a number of activities for all ages.
If you want to know more about the Village of Pinehurst and real-estate availability, call or send me a text at 910-528-6427. Let’s get started today!
— Lin Hutaff