Springsong Museum Research
Volunteer archivist Madeleine Wenger and Springsong Museum Founder/Executive Director Rebecca Henson view sketches of wildlife for USFW publications.
In April 2025, Springsong Museum staff and a volunteer archivist visited NCTC, the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia to research artifacts from Rachel Carson’s life. As a U.S. Fish & Wildlife employee for years, many of Carson’s effects are conserved and stored at NCTC. Volunteer archivist, Madeleine Wenger shares about the experience:
As a part of collections research, Rebecca, Angie, and myself, Madeleine Wenger (volunteer archivist), set out to the US Fish and Wildlife’s National Conservation Training Center campus in Shepherdstown, WV for a two-night stay in late April. The NCTC archival curation team were gracious hosts who guided us through materials related to Rachel Carson’s life, other scientists and loved ones in her orbit, and the rich legacy she inspired. We spent the days poring over documents, both scanned and original, also sifting through photos, audio-tapes, and even handling some of Carson’s personal belongings. During this investigation we could see more clearly the puzzle pieces of Carson’s life history and network. We became more familiar with the personalities of the major players in her story by reading original letters. This research is starting to inform the permanent exhibits for Springsong Museum and provides a better understanding of what information and materials are available, and options for inviting visitors to learn about Carson and the lens with which she viewed our world.
A few highlights of the artifact collection include: Carson’s magnifying glass, postage stamps with Carson’s portrait, a first edition with Carson’s handwritten inscription to her mother, Carson’s personal bookplates, a series of original sheet music honoring Silent Spring, M.C. Escher prints, original magazine advertisements displaying household applications for DDT, translations of Carson’s publications in dozens of languages each with unique and intricate cover art, and a Herb Block cartoon visualizing pesticides as the deceivingly alluring poison apple featured in the story of Snow White.
Images top row: Rachel Carson’s personal bookplates and personal magnifying glass.
Images bottom row: Herb Block’s 1962 cartoon,”Ain’t it a Beaut?” and the high resolution scanner digitally capturing the poster.