The Reuben Brown House Preservation Society, Inc. (RBHPS) is a non-profit organization with a mission to encourage and promote awareness, participation and appreciation of cultural, historic and fine arts in Columbus County and to preserve the Reuben Brown House and other local historic buildings. Reuben Brown House is open by appointment and is available for small group meetings, special programs, art exhibits, community, civic and educational events. 

Upcoming

Events

Doug Sasser -

Southwind Photography Show

Resident Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser of Hallsboro presented a showing of his photography showcasing southeastern North Carolina at Reuben Brown House. 

A virtual visit with

Jaki  Shelton Green - 

NC Poet Laureate 

N.C. Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green presented a virtual program on February 18, 2021, for Columbus County residents. The distinguished writer will appear on Southeastern Community College’s EDU-Cable TV station. 

Green is in a two-year appointment from Gov. Roy Cooper to act as the state’s ambassador of poetry. 

The Society hosted the virtual visit, using CARES Act funds obtained from the N.C. Arts Council. 

You can view Jaki Shelton Green's SCC Presents visit here.

Jaki  Shelton Green - 

NC Poet Laureate 

N.C. Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green visited the DREAM Center and Central Middle School to speak to children and youth in February 2020.  She spoke again at a community event at Southeastern Community College. Her visit was sponsored by the Reuben Brown House Preservation Society, Southeastern Community College, The North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and The North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, a state agency.

An evening with

U.S. Poet Laureate - Tracy Smith

U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith visited Columbus County in 2018 and spoke at Southeastern Community College to a packed auditorium. Smith is the author of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning collection Life on Mars. She is a professor at Princeton University.

The poet’s visit to Columbus County was arranged by the Reuben Brown House Preservation Society as a special way of celebrating the 25th anniversary of the A.R. Ammons Poetry Contest. Numerous corporate and private sponsors contributed to the expenses of bringing Smith.

Doug Sasser -

Southwind Photography Show

Resident Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser of Hallsboro presented a showing of his photography showcasing southeastern North Carolina at Reuben Brown House. 

The A.R. Ammons Poetry Contest
with Jaki  Shelton Green - NC Poet Laureate 

A little bit about the A.R. Ammons poetry contest...

In 1993 RBHPS member Susan Wood came up with the idea for establishing a student poetry contest to encourage Columbus County’s students to develop an appreciation for the art of poetry and to explore their own talents at reading and writing poetry.

The poetry contest committee asked renowned poet and Columbus County native son A.R. Ammons for permission to name the contest the Annual A.R. Ammons Student Poetry Contest for Grades K – 12. Ammons agreed to the proposal and was pleased to lend his name to the event. The first contest was held in 1994. In 2011 another division was added for college students statewide. On average 700 students participate each year in five separate divisions based on grade groupings. RBHPS hosts an annual awards program to recognize the winning student poets and invites them to read their poems aloud to the audience.  

Ammons was born and grew up on a Columbus County farm just outside Whiteville, NC. He left his home county to serve in World War II on a naval destroyer. He later received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Wake Forest University and the University of California at Berkeley. Although he never returned to Columbus County to live, he came back often to visit family and friends over the years. And his poetry often reflected places, experiences, and personalities from his earlier life on the farm and life in Columbus County.

Today the poetry contest thrives in Columbus County thanks to a strong community-wide effort spearheaded by RBHPS. Additionally, major partners include The News Reporter, public and private schools, businesses and civic organizations, banks, and other generous donors.

RBHPS welcomes the opportunity to encourage and recognize student poets and their poems and to honor A. R. Ammons, an extraordinary poet from the past whose poems continue to touch our souls.

A virtual visit with

Jaki  Shelton Green - 

NC Poet Laureate 

N.C. Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green presented a virtual program on February 18, 2021, for Columbus County residents. The distinguished writer will appear on Southeastern Community College’s EDU-Cable TV station. 

Green is in a two-year appointment from Gov. Roy Cooper to act as the state’s ambassador of poetry. 

The Society hosted the virtual visit, using CARES Act funds obtained from the N.C. Arts Council. 

You can view Jaki Shelton Green's SCC Presents visit here.

Jaki  Shelton Green - 

NC Poet Laureate 

N.C. Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green visited the DREAM Center and Central Middle School to speak to children and youth in February 2020.  She spoke again at a community event at Southeastern Community College. Her visit was sponsored by the Reuben Brown House Preservation Society, Southeastern Community College, The North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and The North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, a state agency.

U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith visited Columbus County in 2018 and spoke at Southeastern Community College to a packed auditorium. Smith is the author of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning collection Life on Mars. She is a professor at Princeton University.

The poet’s visit to Columbus County was arranged by the Reuben Brown House Preservation Society as a special way of celebrating the 25th anniversary of the A.R. Ammons Poetry Contest. Numerous corporate and private sponsors contributed to the expenses of bringing Smith.

An evening with

U.S. Poet Laureate - Tracy Smith

Doug Sasser -

Southwind Photography Show

Resident Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser of Hallsboro presented a showing of his photography showcasing southeastern North Carolina at Reuben Brown House.