ELBERTA — The Elberta Public Library will soon fully reveal a display within its walls of rare historical photos and drawings detailing the area’s past.

The display details the colonization, incorporation and history of Elberta. Many of the photos were collected by librarian June Taylor, either given to her or sourced from places such as the Baldwin County Heritage Museum.

“This has been a long time coming,” Taylor said. “I’ve been working on this for months, probably a year. (...) I learned over and above what I knew, ‘cause I thought I knew a lot, but I learned a lot.”

The collection also honors Eileen Mueller, who was a founding member and board member of the Elberta Public Library, along with being the matriarch of Pirates Cove. Library Director Betty Wood said growing up, Mueller lived next door to her aunt and the two attended high school together. When Wood told Mueller that she and others were starting a library in Elberta, Mueller asked if she could help, saying she always wanted to be a librarian.

Mueller died in July 2025, with her children asking the community to donate to the library, which helped contribute to the creation of the display.

“What amazes us is the number of pictures that were thrown away,” Wood said. “It’s sad really. This would have been so much more than it is.”

Only a portion of the display is currently being shown. The rest will be revealed during a special event May 31 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Taylor is also working on a notebook that features even more information than what is included with the pictures, including stories people have told her and newspaper articles, including pieces from the Onlooker from years past. Once completed, people will get the chance to read it themselves at the library.

“It’s gonna be nice for Elberta that people can come in here and be able to look at that notebook and look at the walls,” Taylor said. “I think it’s gonna be really nice for them to look at for years to come.”