The John A. Wilkinson History Room at Washington’s George H. & Laura E. Brown Library remains in place, but its biggest champion is no longer minding the stacks.

Wanda Corey, longtime library assistant and genealogist, retired from the library in late November. But she leaves a wealth of information and resources collected over the years.

Before her retirement, Corey reminisced about her time at the library.

“Sue Loy was my boss in 1974 and she thought I’d be good in the history room, and I learned to keep up with everything there,” Corey said. “I’ve enjoyed assisting patrons researching local history and their family trees, and most of the time I’ve been able to put my hands on whatever they requested.”

The history room houses an extensive collection of donated material of local and state interest, including church files and cemetery records. Individual volumes trace the histories of such prominent Beaufort County names as Alligood, Blount, Cutler, Harding, Litchfield, Mayo, Tayloe, Topping and Woolard.

The library also offers free access to online ancestry materials as well as local newspapers, including the Washington Daily News, dating back to 1909. Vintage postcards capture life in Washington and surrounding communities over the past century.

The priceless collection includes an assortment of photos salvaged from the now defunct Vann’s Studio, at one time Washington’s leading portrait studio. And there are yearbooks from Washington High School as old as the one featuring the graduating class of 1948.

During her time at Brown Library, Corey became the “go-to” person for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of Beaufort County. She even fielded phone and email inquiries from as far away as New York and Pennsylvania.

“No one knows the history room like Wanda, but the history room is still open and accessible,” said Terry Rollins, Brown’s children’s librarian. “The staff will help to the best of our abilities, and we all wish Wanda a happy retirement.”