Local history

Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context and it often concentrates on the local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Historic plaques are one form of documentation of significant occurrences in the past and oral histories are another. Local history is often documented by local historical societies or groups that form to preserve a local historic building or other historic site. Many works of local history are compiled by amateur historians working independently or archivists employed by various organizations. An important aspect of local history is the publication and cataloguing of documents preserved in local or national records which relate to particular areas.

In a number of countries a broader concept of local lore is known, which is a comprehensive study of everything pertaining to a certain locality: history, ethnography, geography, natural history, etc.

Local contexts

Local history tends to be less documented than other types, with fewer books and artifacts than that of a country or continent. Many local histories are recorded as oral tales or stories and so are more vulnerable than more well known issues. Artifacts of local history are often collected in local history museums, which may be housed in a historic house or other building. Individual historic sites are inherently local, although they may have national or world history importance as well. Many however have little overall historical impact but add depth to the local area.

United Kingdom

The British Association for Local History in the United Kingdom encourages and assists in the study of local history as an academic discipline and as a leisure activity by both individuals and groups. Most historic counties in England have record societies and archaeological and historical societies which coordinate the work of historians and other researchers concerned with that area.

Local history in the UK took a long time to be accepted as an academic discipline. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was widely regarded as an antiquarian pursuit, suitable for country parsons. The Victoria History of the Counties of England project begun in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of England. The project is coordinated by the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London. The first academic post related to local history was at Reading University which appointed a research fellow in local history in 1908. There was a department of local history (but without a professor) at Leicester University from 1947. H. P. R. Finberg was the first Professor of English Local History. He was appointed by Leicester in 1964.^[1] Local history continues to be neglected as an academic subject within universities. Academic local historians are often found within a more general department of history or in continuing education.

Local history is rarely taught as a separate subject in British schools. In 1908, a Board of Education circular had urged that schools should pay attention "to the history of the town and district" in which they were situated.^[2] In 1952, the Ministry of Education suggested schools should use local material to illustrate national themes.^[3] Within the current National Curriculum, pupils at level 4 are expected to "show their knowledge and understanding of local, national and international history".^[4]

The Alan Ball Local History Awards were established in the 1980s to recognize outstanding contributions in local history publishing in the UK (both in print and in new media), and to encourage the publishing of such works by public libraries and local authorities.^[5]

United States

In the United States, local history is usually concentrated on any history of the place and people from a particular village or township. Several villages and townships would comprise one county or county history. Library records are often divided by State, then county, then township/local history. The American Local History Network (ALHN) in the United States provides a focus for accessing independent genealogical and historical resources.

In the United States, 79,000 historic sites are identified as listings on its National Register of Historic Places. State and local municipalities often have additional landmark designations to cover sites of more purely local interest.

In addition, many regional and state historical societies maintain regional history and actively seek out missing historical collections.

A new form of local history is the movement of "If This House Could Talk" projects in various urban neighborhoods in the United States. These small scale locally generated history events encourage an interest in history and provide for open ended participation by the general public. However, there is often no vetting or third party review of the factual evidence that is presented, and therefore such presentations may require oversight by professional third party history organizations if they are to be transcribed into ongoing collections of local history.

Slavic countries

In several Slavic countries there is a related study which may be translated from the local languages as "country lore" or "local lore". In addition to history, it also incorporates other local studies, such as local geography, nature, and ethnography.

In the USSR, Russia and Russian-speaking post-Soviet states local lore is known as krayevedenie (Краеведение). It is taught in primary schools. There are also local lore museums known as krayevedcheskie muzei. In modern Russia the concept of "regional studies" ( Регионоведение) is also considered.^[6]

In Ukraine, the study of local history and regional ethnography is known as krayeznavstvo (Ukrainian: краєзнавство. The National Union of Local Lore Researchers of Ukraine is a professional society for researchers of ethnology and local studies in Ukraine. It was founded in 1925 and has 3,000 members in 17 chapters.^[7] The society has published its journal Краєзнавство since 1927.^[8]

In Poland, the corresponding concept is called krajoznawstwo.

See also

• English local history
• Family history
• Historic preservation
• Microhistory
• One-place study
• Rural history

Notes

Further reading

• Beckett, John (2007). Writing local history. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-84779-513-7. 
• Celoria, Francis (1958) Teach Yourself Local History. London: English Universities Press
• Hey, David (1996) The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-104493-9 (as editor)
• --do.--(1997; published online 2003) The Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History ISBN 9780198600800
• Hey, David (2010). Oxford Companion to Family and Local History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-104493-9. 
• Parker, Donald Dean (1944). Bertha E. Josephson, ed. Local History: How to Gather it, Write it, and Publish it. New York, USA: Social Science Research Council – via HathiTrust.  (fulltext)
• Richardson, John (1974) The Local Historian's Encyclopedia. New Barnet: Historical Publications
• Rogers, Alan (1972) This Was their World: approaches to local history. London: BBC (to accompany the BBC radio series broadcast Apr.-Jun. & Oct.-Dec. 1972)

External links

Look up local history in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• American Local History Network, United States.
• Local History from the National Archives, UK.
• Local History Trails from the BBC.
• Waverly Lowell. "Doing Your Neighborhood History". Preserving Your History. USA: Society of California Archivists. 

Library guides

• "U.S. local history: a research guide". Princeton LibGuides. USA: Princeton University Library.