New curator brings spirit of service to Burke History Museum
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Bill Poteat
Editor Emeritus
Corwin Keys, the new curator of the History Museum of Burke County, stands outside the museum in downtown Morganton.
The Dignity of Work monument stands outside the History Museum of Burke County.
Corwin Keys made his first visit to the History Museum of Burke County in the autumn of 2025. He was impressed immediately with what he saw.
“I was impressed with both the quality of the exhibits, which I thought was outstanding,” he said, “but also with the range of the exhibits and how much of the county’s history was captured here.”
Now, Keys is charged with the responsibility of making the museum even better in his new role as curator, archivist, and assistant to the Executive Director Claude Sitton.
“Burke County was in no way on my radar this time a year ago,” said Keys, who graduated from Ashbrook High School in Gastonia, but who moved numerous times as a youth because both of his parents were in the Navy.
“I was talking to Bethany (Burke County native Bethany Mace, who was a fellow student in the history graduate program at UNC-Charlotte) and she said I should come up and give it a look,” Keys said.
Now, both Keys and Mace are employed by the museum as she was hired as the director of education at the same time he was hired to his position.
Even though Keys had a deep interest in history as a youngster, that career path took a back seat upon his graduation from high school as the young man felt it his duty to serve his country and enlisted in the Navy.
“If I had been old enough, I would have enlisted the day after 9-11,” he remembered. “I had always thought that I had a responsibility to serve and 9-11 just sealed the deal.”
Keys spent the next 13-plus years in the Navy, specializing in weapons systems and firefighting, while also serving three years as a recruiter.
“The most important thing I learned in the Navy was that you do what has to be done,” he said. “There’s only so many people on any ship and you can’t pigeon hole yourself into one role. You have to do what’s needed.”
Then, remembering with a laugh, Keys said, “I also learned to work with small budgets.”
After his discharge from the Navy, Keys devoted himself primarily to education, receiving an associate’s degree from Central Piedmont Community College, then both a bachelor’s and a master’s in history from UNC-Charlotte.
Part of earning his master’s degree included an internship at the Burke Museum, an experience which he enjoyed immensely and which left him open to the idea of joining the museum staff if a position became available.
The museum’s board of directors approved the establishment of the two new full-time positions in April, and both Keys and Mace joined the staff just after their graduation in early May.
Asked about what his new duties will entail, Keys answered, “Just like in the Navy, I will be wearing many hats.”
As curator, he said, his responsibilities will include construction and maintenance of each exhibit in the museum.
“We have so many untapped treasures that have been donated to us that we have not yet displayed,” he said. “So, I have choices to make as to what to display but I’m guided by the principle that this museum must reflect the people of this county and the people who support us and visit us.”
“I also need to better get to know the people of Burke County,” he added. “I need to learn the faces and the names and the stories. I will be working hard to meet and to get to know people over the next year.”
Asked about his goals for the museum in his new role, he replied, “I want to see the museum become in some ways similar to the library. That is, a tremendous resource that can help people improve their lives.
“I have not been this excited about a new chapter in my life since I joined the Navy more than 20 years ago,” Keys continued. “The possibilities at this museum are endless. It presents me with the opportunity to do a lot of good. This is a growing community, and we need a growing museum.”
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