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Bug House Laboratory circa 1934

Bug House Laboratory circa 1934

Bug House Park

Bug House Park

Bug House Park

By Clark Curtis for the Washington Daily News

100 years ago in the summer of 1923, four Washington boys organized a club because of their love of insects and small animals. George Ross, John Ratcliff, James Braddy, and Dick Dunston, decided to use a small tent where they could display the many specimens that they had collected here in Washington and while on field trips. By 1926, their passion had outgrown their small tent. In need of a new home, they were able to move their collection to an old detached kitchen in one of their parents’ yards. “One day a young lady came by to visit the “clubhouse” as they had named it,” said Brown Library historian, Stephen Farrell. “She came to look at the menagerie of mounted specimens and said, “What is this, a bug house?” The name stuck and they went on to call their club The Bug House Laboratory.”

Over the course of the next three years, the young teens found themselves moving a lot. Their beloved hobby quickly expanded and outgrew the old kitchen. They then moved their display to an old shack on 5th street, but once again would soon be in need of a larger space. By 1929, after some begging and coaxing with city officials, they were given permission to use the second floor of the old City Hall, which is now home to the Washington Cafe. “By the early 1930’s the club had grown to over a dozen boys and had become affiliated with the American Association of Museums, which was a huge deal,” said Farrell. “And at the urging of the Association for them have a more “dignified” title, they named their club the Washington Field Museum.”

Farrell said by the mid-1930s, their collection continued to get larger and larger, as did their support from the city of Washington and its citizens. “Their efforts were showing a true sense of identity for the city,” said Farrell. “So much so that the city agreed to allow them to construct a building at the site of what is now Bug House Park on 121 N. Charlotte Street. By 1934, all 20 members, including girls by then, moved into the brand new log cabin-style museum, and their love of animals and the river would soon become a tourist attraction. Not only did they have a new home to display all of their specimens, but it was also used as a small zoo for some live animals such as bears and birds.”

However, as Farrell pointed out, things started to change with the advent of WWII. The boys either enlisted or were drafted into military service and the girls got busy with projects aiding the war effort, and often enlisting as well. As a result, they were unable to keep the Bug House Laboratory open and the doors were shuttered. “The city took over the building and removed all of the artifacts,” said Farrell. “The building was then turned over to the USO and the Spinsters Club, an all-female civic group founded in 1941, where they would turn it into a recreation center and hold dances and fundraisers to support the troops and their families.”

By the end of the war, the once boys and girls, returned home as young men and women, and the times had changed as well. “After the war, a combination of enthusiasm for a full-time Washington recreation center and reduced interest in the Bug House Laboratory brought about the end of the Washington Field Museum. The now men and women gave all of the contents to the city. However, they were never used and sadly were disposed of. Instead, the city turned the log-style facility into a full-time recreation center.”

In 1947 the Rotary Club purchased the first recreational equipment for the city, which included swings, slides, and parallel bars. By 1981 the original log structure with all of its history had fallen into disrepair, and was torn down. “The original Bug House Laboratory and then recreation center put its mark on the history of Washington,” said Farrell. “It was the brainchild of four Washington teenagers and their love for bugs and small animals. It became the largest collection of animal species in a private museum in the United States and literally put Washington on the map nationally and internationally. It was even listed on an ESSO map of tourist attractions in North Carolina. I have never heard or seen of anything like this anywhere.”

Which is why Farrell is so excited about the Centennial Celebration and Grand Re-Opening of Bug House Park this Saturday, July 15 at 11 a.m. “I was part of a group started by city councilman Bobby Roberson, local historian Ray Midget, the Rotary Club of Washington, and others, to have a historical marker created for the park,” said Farrell. “I reached out to the state in July of 2022, and with its help, which led us to a private business, we now have a customized historical marker that will be dedicated this Saturday. What a fitting time to be able to celebrate this piece of history on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Bug House Laboratory.”

In addition to remarks from Farrell and others, there will be a Pickleball exhibition, bug bags for the kids, and free lunch for all attendees provided by Ware’s Chapel United Methodist Church. “It is very remarkable to have this park still in use,” said Farrell. “It has been revitalized with new playground equipment, Pickleball courts, and a historical marker to reflect on where we have come as a city and where we are now. Today we are enjoying the same piece of property that children played on 100 years ago and will be able to continue to do so for generations to come. Preserving these pieces of our history helps to guide us into the future.”

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