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Brockington’s historians have been conducting comprehensive oral histories for years. We are accomplished at establishing program goals, creating meaningful questionnaires and interview strategies, locating and pre-qualifying interviewees, providing accurate transcriptions, completing project summaries and assisting with archival materials.

Oral History often supports other cultural resources programs, including exhibits, education programs, public histories, corridor management plans, architectural and archaeological surveys, audio tours, mitigation projects and many more. We provide expert guidance for using oral history materials for marketing, education, and the general public.

AIA oral history project.

A1A St. Johns Oral History


In 2008, the Scenic and Historic A1A committee obtained a grant from the National Scenic Byways Program to collect oral histories from long-term residents of the A1A corridor and selected Brockington to conduct interviews about memories of daily life, foodways, occupations, politics, civil rights, recreation, land development, and observations of the natural world.  More »

We have assembled a team of oral historians, editors, transcribers, and videographers to help our clients create a meaningful program for memory collection. We have developed a multi-step process for effective collection:

  1. Holding planning meetings and goal discussions
  2. Developing questionnaires and strategies for conducting interviews
  3. Performing timely interviews and accurate transcriptions
  4. Creating project summaries
  5. Establishing archiving locations.

How can oral histories help my project?

We assist clients in using oral history materials for marketing, educational, and general public use. Government agencies often use oral histories immediately after or even during extremely stressful missions for their agency, such as responding to a federal disaster or providing specific support services during war time, in order to gain insight from the people with “boots on the ground” so that they can gain a clear picture of what happened and how they can carry those experiences, good and bad, forward to the next mission.

Clients have found that using the Brockington Oral History Program adds significant value to their projects by providing a personal side to history as the intonation and accent of the storyteller come through. In short, it provides recollections of the past in the voices of the people who lived it.

Brockington's historians know how to elicit information from subjects with sensitivity while capturing the flavor of personal interactions. Whether a client is a community, corporation, government agency, or military installation, we know how to make oral history compelling and relevant.

For example, the developemnt of 80,000 acres of MeadWestvaco Corporation-owned lands in Dorchester and Charleston counties was the largest planned development in the nation. As part of its public outreach, Brockington collected oral histories of long-term residents of the region. We developed a questionnaire and interview strategy focused on discussions of rural life, local customs and foodways, religious activities, farming, timbering, and recreational and social activities. Such a project adds a personal nature to the story of a changing rural region.

These stories remind us to consider the lifeways that have long existed and carefully evaluate the impact our decisions will have on the future landscape.

The Brockington Oral History Program can serve as a support for other projects including:

  • Public exhibits
  • Educational programs
  • Public histories
  • Corridor management plans
  • Architectural and archaeological surveys
  • Branding stories
  • Audio tours
  • Mitigation projects
  • Family histories

For more information on Oral History, please contact Mr. Charles Philips at charliephilips@brockingtoncrm.com.