In Center Harbor, a curious case of missing museum records

CENTER HARBOR — There are a lot of questions, and few answers, about recent developments at the Center Harbor Historical Society. However, one thing is clear: two books, perhaps the most important documents to the operation of the organization, are missing. The historical society and the police are trying to figure out where they are.

The Center Harbor Historical Society museum is located within an 1886 schoolhouse on Route 25B, and is closed this year awaiting mitigation of mold and mildew. The building is owned by the town and leased for use by the historical organization.

Roland Garland, president of the historical society, first noticed something was amiss around the beginning of July, when he went into the building as part of his regular “check-ups,” as he called them, to inspect the building and do a little work. Normally when he enters, he expects to see the museum “put to sleep,” as he said, with cloths draped over display cases and mannequins, and otherwise prepared for a long period without visitors.

“This one time that I went into the museum, I noticed that somebody had been in there. It looked like something was done, whereby the mannequins were out, the covers were askew, the dolls were out and standing up, somebody had been in there,” Garland said.

He didn’t immediately notice anything missing or damaged. However, with subsequent visits, he had the same experience, seeing signs that someone had been in the building during his absence.

Finally, Garland noticed something was indeed missing. Something both strange for an outsider to take, yet critically important to the organization: The historical society’s two accession books, books of notes containing the records of all materials donated to the organization since its founding in 1971, including a description of each item, who gave it, and when.

Even more curious, on a subsequent check-in, Garland found something new was left behind: a three-ring binder, filled with poorly photocopied pages from the original accession books. It appeared to Garland that whoever made the copies was in a rush or was careless, because the pages are difficult to read at best, and some are illegible.

Garland said there wasn’t any damage done to the building or the materials inside. The lack of damage suggests the person had a key, which is entirely possible. The museum being a town-owned building, a spare set of keys is kept at Town Hall. At least, that’s where the keys are supposed to be. After the strange business at the museum began, Garland said he inquired at Town Hall, at which point it was learned the spare set of keys is missing. Records show the last time someone signed them out was in December of 2021 — there’s no record they were returned.

The Center Harbor Police Chief Mark Chase confirmed there is an open investigation into the missing accession books, but declined to comment further.

There was not initially any surveillance apparatus in the building, though some has since been installed. The locks have also been changed, and the organization’s collection has all been moved to a secure location while contractors are working to correct the building’s health hazards.

It will likely be a couple of years before the historical society can again display its collection for the public, and Garland said he hopes to have the accession books back in their rightful place by then.

“There’s some skullduggery that’s been happening. We’re very sad that it’s happened to us, and we want the books back,” Garland said.