The Mary Ball Washington Museum & Library, 8346 Mary Ball Road, Lancaster, in partnership with the Wharton Films Project, will host a summer exhibition of “The Lost Northern Neck Films of James Wharton.”
When James Pollard Wharton died in 1992, he left behind more than 20 hours of 16mm silent films and reel-to-reel audio tapes that were only recently rediscovered. His uncompleted movie now serves as historical documentation of life in the lower Northern Neck in the 1920s and 1930s.
The Wharton Films Project, an initiative of community volunteers, has digitized the original films and created a two-hour compilation of excerpted silent footage to share with the public. The project hopes to eventually produce a documentary film that will showcase James Wharton and his amazing work.
During the 1930s, Wharton’s “Northern Neck Movies” played at local community centers for the admission of 15 to 25 cents to the delight of locals, family and friends.
