HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PALM BEACH COUNTY TO HONOR
THE PRESERVATION OF BLACK HISTORY IN WEST PALM BEACH
PALM BEACH, Fla. (March, 2003)--- The Historical Society
of Palm Beach County will present its inaugural Fannie James
Award to Laurita Collie Sharpp on April 5 for her contributions
to preserving and sharing the rich history of West Palm
Beach’s black pioneers. Sharpp is the granddaughter
of one of West Palm Beach’s earliest black settlers,
John Collie, and the daughter of one of West Palm Beach’s
first black dentists, renowned community leader Dr. Warren
Hale Collie. In 2002, Sharpp donated her treasured collection
of photographs, diaries and letters, chronicling over a
century of her family’s history, to the Historical
Society of Palm Beach County. The award will be presented
to Sharpp during the Historical Society’s annual membership
meeting and reception at The Mar-a-Lago Club on April 5,
from 4:00p.m. – 7:00p.m.
The Collie Collection is the Historical Society’s
first major donation of artifacts that chronicle and illustrate
the comprehensive history of a black family in Palm Beach
County. Noting that her documents were deteriorating, Sharpp
donated them to the Historical Society. They include her
grandmother’s diaries, old photographs depicting West
Palm Beach life from the 1890s through the 1940s, and a
letter from legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Her
donation has preserved an integral part of Palm Beach County’s
history: a rarely-seen glimpse into the lives of black pioneers
who helped shape the landscape of Palm Beach County beginning
in the late 19th century.
“The Collie Collection adds a critical
dimension to our archives,” said Loren Mintz, executive
director of The Historical Society of Palm Beach County.
“Although we have millions of documents and photographs
in our vast collection, artifacts from black history in
Palm Beach County have remained elusive and hard to come
by. Families are the predominant keepers of these materials,
and many are hesitant to part with them. Mrs. Sharpp’s
collection will now serve as a valuable resource for students,
educators, researchers, historians and future generations
to learn about the history and contributions made by the
West Palm Beach black community.”
The Historical Society’s Fannie James
Award honors the achievements of individuals or organizations
that have significantly contributed to preserving and sharing
the history of Palm Beach County’s pioneering days.
The award is named for the late Fannie James, a black pioneer
who served as the first postmistress of the Jewell Post
Office, which was open from 1889 until 1903. The area is
now known as the City of Lake Worth.
For more information about the first annual
Fannie James Award, contact the Historical Society of Palm
Beach County’s executive director Loren Mintz, at
(561) 832-4164.
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