On April 22, 1953, the General Assembly established the Tar Heel Junior Historian Association program to advance the study of North Carolina history in public and private schools.
Administered by the North Carolina Museum of History, the association enrolls about 8,000 students in grades four through eight each year. The highlight of program comes each spring when students gather at a convention in Raleigh to share projects and conduct competitions.
Educators William H. Cartwright and J. C. McLendon were the driving force behind the creation of the program. They studied junior history programs in other states and met with Christopher Crittenden, then director of the state Department of Archives and History to sketch out a plan for the program.
In 1961, the association first issued the Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine, which is still published to this day. The North Carolina History Quiz, later renamed the Christopher Crittenden State History Quiz, was started in 1976.
When state history as was reintroduced as a separate eighth grade course in 1988, the association’s enrollment increased exponentially, and in 1995, the Tar Heel Junior Historian Gallery opened in the new Museum building in downtown Raleigh, giving the association a permanent space to display student work.
Visit: History in Every Direction: THJHA Discovery Gallery, an exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh, showcases the most recent winners of THJHA Annual Contests, allowing junior historians to share what they have learned with thousands of annual visitors.
Other related resources:
- Archived issues of the Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine, 1961-1991, on the digital collections of the State Archives and State Library
- Articles from the Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine on NCpedia
- Educational programs at Cultural Resources