Helen asked me to put this on the Belmont County Mailing List. It is with great sorrow that I must announce that the historical research area currently located at the old Mediterranean Restaurant on township road Mediterranean Drive west of Morristown is being closed. The records currently stored at the Mediterranean had been inaccessible for years in various storage areas in the county and some were in a deplorable state. Some of these books date back to 1801. Through the generosity of a lot of people, a few women were able with the help of some of the county employees, to consolidate the records first in the old county poorhouse and then more recently at the old Mediterranean Building. Through the past several years many researchers and local citizens have donated and loaned computers, copiers, furniture, money, etc which made the location to be a welcome and comfortable research area. More recently we have received pictures, artifacts and files which broadened the appeal to the researchers who have come from all over the United States. Through a love of history, donated items and many volunteer hours we were developing a wonderful research area that will be sadly missed by local and visiting researchers. After a recent mischievous break-in, during which nothing was stolen or broken, a decision has been reached by the county commissioners, instead of putting in a security alarm, to remove the records to a currently unknown location and close the Mediterranean thus closing these valuable records availability to researchers who have ties to Belmont County. Anyone who has loaned or donated equipment, files, pictures, etc to the Mediterranean location should contact me immediately to retrieve your property. My telephone number is: 1-740-686-2846; 1-740-359-5507. A special thanks to all those who have donated supplies and time to the venture and a big thanks to all the researchers from around the United States for their support during my years watching over the oldest records of Belmont County. I regret to say that I will no longer be the guardian of these records. I have truly enjoyed working with the wonderful people who have worked with me and others who came to do the research and will sadly miss working with these very old books who have become my friends. It has been a labor of love. Helen Stanford Cheryl J Skinner <http://www.connectingfamilydots.com> Connecting Family Dots Make a Genealogist happy with books form the Belmont County Genealogical Society <http://www.bccogs.org>