NPS/Rob Hartwig The oral history program at Homestead National Historical Park has been collecting accounts since 1957. The park archives holds over a hundred interviews which cover a range of topics. In addition to the voices of former homesteaders and their descendants the oral history collection includes park staff, Freeman school students, factory employees, people who helped develop the park, and more. The collections represent unique perspectives on the history of the park and the impacts of the Homestead Act. What is Oral History? Oral history is a means of creating an historical record that does not otherwise exist in the surviving documentation. Oral history is the recording of spoken reminiscences of an individual. Though the written records tell much of the story, they do not always show the human side. Oral history can significantly enrich the telling of stories that deserve to be told by including the human voice and providing a richness of detail and description that does not exist in the official record of human endeavor. Oral histories are subjective memories of individuals. Recollections of events may have been altered by the passage of time, physical or mental deterioration of the subject through aging, or the deliberate recreation of events for personal reasons. The creation of the oral history is facilitated by an interviewer who operates the equipment, introduces the line of questioning or topics to be discussed and keeps the interview focused. Like any other source, an oral history should serve as only one aspect of historical research on an individual, event, or time period.
These oral histories may be used for non-commercial public or press use with proper credit given to the National Park Service. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the park at 402-223-3514 or Contact Us. |
Last updated: January 8, 2025