CENTRE — A local insurance adjustor recently decided that someone ought to be working to ensure the safekeeping of the history of Cherokee County.

Jason Clowdis didn't major in history in college, but he does consider himself something of a historian. The Gaylesville and Jacksonville State alum is partial to Civil War and local history in his spare time, and was recently surprised to learn that the Cherokee County Historical Society has been dormant for over 20 years.

“I was looking for some other people to meet for the local history,” Clowdis said. “I talked to David Crum, the director of the Cherokee County Historical Museum. He said the Society was not active anymore, so I decided to get it going again.”

Over the past two months, Clowdis has created a new website (www.cherokeecountyhistory.com) and devised a plan of action for the Historical Society.

“I will have several initiatives, such as erecting historic markers and trying to replace some of the signs that are in bad shape,” Clowdis said. “We are also looking at some future development at Cornwall Furnace.”

Clowdis pointed to restoration efforts that have been undertaken at a similar furnace at Tannehill Ironworks Historic State Park, near McCalla, as a blueprint for Cornwall.

“Tannehill is among the most visited parks in Alabama,” Clowdis said. “They have a ramp where you can walk to the top of the furnace. I would like to see, long-term, signs erected around the furnace that explain how the furnace operated. Most people do not have a clue on how it actually worked.”

Clowdis said he is working with Crum to establish a committee within the Historical Society that will coordinate with the Cherokee County Parks and Recreation Board to seek out federal and state funding for future restoration projects.

“We are hoping to come up with a viable plan and present it to the Parks and Recreation board in the near future,” Clowdis said.

Clowdis said he has other local historical projects in mind, including getting together local groups of war veterans.

“I would love to create some recorded history, get the veterans together and tape their stories,” Clowdis said. “It would not be just for them, but for all people who are interested in history.”

Clowdis said he has conducted plenty of research into the reasons for the decline of the Historical Society, which was founded in 1958.

“There was a big push back in the 1960s and '70s,” Clowdis said. “But it seems that after the Historical Society succeeded in getting the museum open in the early 1980s, interest in the Society itself became inactive.”