Margaret Nygard Papers, 1880s-2004 (bulk 1970s-1990s)

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Summary

Creator:
Nygard, Margaret, 1925-1995.
Abstract:

Margaret Nygard (1925-1995), a white environmental conservationist, her husband Holger Olof Nygard, and others in 1965 formed the Eno Historical Society (later renamed the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley and often called the Eno River Association). She was also involved in other local and state-wide groups that supported efforts to protect sensitive environmental areas. The Margaret Nygard Papers chiefly relate to her involvement in founding and running the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley. Topics include the acquisition of land along the Eno River for the Eno River State Park, the Festival for the Eno and other outreach events of the Association, Nygard's involvement with the North Carolina Division of State Parks and North Carolina environmental organizations, and her opposition to development projects, including the proposed expansion of Raleigh-Durham Airport. Also included are some Nygard and related family materials. Additions to the collection consist of materials similar to those found in the original seven series; new topics of note are materials about the Cave, Fews, Cole, Malone, Markham, and Mangum families who lived in the Eno River Valley; the Native American people and trading paths around the Eno River, Occoneechee Mountain, and Oxbow areas; and images by Durham, N.C., photographer Hugh Mangum, depicting members of the Mangum family of Durham, N.C., and the Eno River and surrounding areas.

Extent:
26,000 items (72.0 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

Margaret Nygard was born on 25 January 1925 in Nasik, India, where her father was a British civil servant. Upon leaving India, she first lived in England and then later in Canada. She married English professor Holger Nygard in 1944. Nygard received her masters degree and doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley and then moved to Durham, N.C.

Soon after arriving in Durham, N.C., she and her husband discovered the unmarked Eno River. Learning that a reservoir was to be built on the river, the two began leading hikes to raise awareness of the planned developments in the area. Nygard and the members of her hiking group formed the Eno Historical Society in 1965. The Eno Historical Society became the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley on 14 October 1966 (often called the Eno River Association).

In the early 1970s, the Association received the endorsement of the board of the Nature Conservancy and the North Carolina State Parks Committee to begin acquiring land along the Eno River to create a state park. On 15 June 1973, this donated land became part of the North Carolina state parks system as Eno River State Park. Nygard continued her involvement in the Association, becoming Executive Vice President after the Eno River State Park was formed.

Nygard's environmental works extended beyond the Association. She became involved in a number of local and state-wide groups which supported efforts to protect other sensitive environmental areas.

Margaret Nygard and Holger Nygard had four children: Stephen; Jenny, an artist whose work was featured in Association calendars; Kerstin; and Eric, who worked for the North Carolina state parks system. Margaret Nygard died on 5 November 1995 at the age of 70.

Scope and content:

The Margaret Nygard Papers chiefly document the involvement of Margaret Nygard, a white conservationist, in the founding and running the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley (often called the Eno River Association). There are materials relating to the Eno River, Eno River State Park, and the annual Festival for the Eno. There are also materials related to Nygard's involvement with the North Carolina Division of State Parks and other North Carolina-based organizations.

Series 1. Subject Files, circa 1965-1982, contains materials relating to Margaret Nygard's early work in the Durham area, especially her involvement in the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley. The papers contain information related to West Point Mill, Guess Mill, and other mills located along the Eno River. Also included are clippings related to the earlier years of the Eno River Association and other environmental causes in which Nygard and the Association were involved. Some materials concern the Eno River Group, an organization of concerned citizens presumably led by Stewart G. Barbour around 1973-1974, who opposed the acquisition of land around the river by the Association in order to create a park. There are also materials related to the proposed expansion of the Raleigh-Durham Airport and the environmental impact on Umstead Park in Wake County, N.C. Also included are maps related to Eno River State Park and some Nygard and related family materials.

Series 2. Subject Files, circa 1982-1996, primarily contains information related to the operations of the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley and efforts to protect the Eno River. There are meeting minutes, membership lists, volunteer information, hiking and other outreach event schedules, financial materials, and materials related to the production of the annual Association calendar. Other materials are related to efforts to protect the Eno River against development spurred by the Duraleigh connector and Eno Drive. There are also materials related to many environmental and conservation groups in Durham County, Orange County, Wake County, and other locations in North Carolina. Organizations include the Durham Open Space and Trails Commission, North Carolina Division of State Parks, Friends of West Point Mill, Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Jockey's Ridge, and Umstead Park. There are also materials relating to the expansion of the Raleigh-Durham Airport, bicycle routes, and other topics. Land use plans, historical and environmental inventories, reports, and surveys are included. Finally, there are materials documenting Nygard's involvement in politics and legislation, including petitions, letters, newspaper clippings, and other related items.

Series 3. Loose Papers, 1981-2004, includes materials related to Margaret Nygard's involvement in the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley and other environmental organizations. Included are meeting minutes, scheduled events, and letters, as well as notecards featuring the artwork of Jenny Nygard, the daughter of Margaret Nygard. There are materials relating to Nygard's involvement in other groups such as the Durham County Open Space Commission and the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, Inc. There are also materials related to Nygard's effort to protect the Eno River from transportation projects such as the Duraleigh connector and the Eno Drive Loop. Some materials, especially newspaper clippings, discuss preservation of Falls Lake, located in Durham, Wake, and Granville counties, N.C.

Series 4. Land Acquisition Files, circa 1976-1995, contains information about the ongoing efforts of the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley to acquire land along the river. These files are, for the most part, arranged geographically along the course of the Eno River. Included are letters, clippings, official documents such as appraisals, tax documents, and other financial materials related to the various tracts of land. Histories of the tracts of land are sometimes included and contain information about the families living along the Eno River.

Series 5. Festival for the Eno and Related Materials, 1985, 1990-1995, includes materials on performers, grants used to fund the Festival for the Eno, volunteers, concessions, preparations for the Festival for the Eno, and other topics. There are also materials concerning the Eno River Association's involvement in various street festivals in Hillsborough, N.C., and the surrounding areas.

Series 6. Clippings, 1966-1974, are related to the early years of the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley and other environmental groups and projects of Margaret Nygard. Clippings, 1993 onward, are chiefly related to watershed regulations affecting the Eno River, but also include newspaper articles related generally to the Eno River, Umstead Park, and other conservation efforts supported by Nygard and the Association.

Series 7. Photographs contains photographs of Margaret Nygard, the Festival for the Eno, Margaret Nygard's funeral, and the Eno River.

Additions to the collection consist of materials similar to those found in the original seven series. New topics of note are materials about the Cave, Fews, Cole, Malone, Markham, and Mangum families who lived in the Eno River Valley; the Native American people and trading paths around the Eno River, Occoneechee Mountain, and Oxbow areas; and images by Durham, N.C., photographer Hugh Mangum, depicting members of the Mangum family of Durham, N.C.

Processing Notes: Folder titles and original order have, with minor exceptions, been maintained throughout the collection. Also, please note that there is considerable overlap among the types of materials and subjects covered in the series. Researchers should therefore investigate all possible locations, both within series and across series, when searching for materials of interest to them.

Acquisition information:

Received from the Nygard family of Durham, N.C., in 2005-2018 (Acc. 100182, 102509, 103386) and from Denise Lassaw in 2016 (Acc. 102513).

Processing information:

Processed by: Amy Nicole Roberson, Benjamin Bromley, and Megan Bricker, May 2009; Patrick Cullom and Nancy Kaiser, 2018

Encoded by: Amy Nicole Roberson and Benjamin Bromley, May 2009

Processing Note: Margaret Nygard's original arrangement and folder titles have, for the most part, been maintained.

In 2017, we began using "white" as an ethnic and racial identity for individual and families, in addition to "Black," "African American," "Jewish," and other familiar identity terms that we have used for decades in collection descriptions. We use this identity term so that whiteness is no longer the presumed default of the people represented in our collections. To determine ethnic identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for ethnicity to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@email.unc.edu.

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to use:

Images may be reproduced only with permission of the artist or photographer.

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Margaret Nygard Collection for the Eno River #5232, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu