Frank L. Horton

Frank L. Horton, a founder of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) and a significant contributor to the planning and restoration of Old Salem, died Saturday, Feb. 21, 2004. He was 85 years old. Mr. Horton is survived by his sister-in-law, Ruth Horton of Blacksburg, Va.; and a niece, Carolyn Horton Lappan of Virginia Beach. Born in Raleigh in 1918 to Theodosia Horton Taliaferro and Dr. Miles Horton, Frank Horton was raised in Winston-Salem. He graduated from Reynolds High School in 1935 and attended the Augusta Military Academy in Fort Defiance, Va., and the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, N.M., before attending Pace Institute (now Pace University) in New York City, where he studied business. His family were members of the First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. In 1942, Mr. Horton enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served during World War II aboard the USS Sturtevant, a destroyer escort ship. When Old Salem Inc. was established in 1950, Mr. Horton was hired as the museum's first director of restoration. He held this post for over 20 years. The town of Salem was established in 1766 by Moravian settlers from Pennsylvania and became an important trade and cultural center of backcountry North Carolina. In 1965, Mr. Horton and his mother opened the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) in Old Salem. MESDA collects, exhibits and studies the furniture, silver and other metals, textiles, ceramics and visual arts made in the South from the 1600s to 1820. The collection complements the innovative research initiatives that Mr. Horton planned and implemented in the 1970s. The MESDA research center continues to be a resource used by art scholars around the world. In 1988, Mr. Horton retired from his position as director of MESDA and was made director emeritus of the museum. Despite being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he remained active as an adviser to the MESDA collection until his death. An author of numerous articles on southern decorative arts, Mr. Horton was awarded many honors for his contributions to the fields of historic preservation and American decorative arts. Among his notable awards are the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award in 1970 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of significant historic and cultural treasures; the Henry Francis duPont Award in 1989 for distinguished contributions to the American arts (awarded by the Winterthur Museum); and the North Carolina Award in Fine Arts in 1999, the most distinguished award presented by the State of North Carolina. Mr. Horton was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree in 1995 by Wake Forest University. In 1997, Old Salem named its new museum complex in Mr. Horton's honor. The Frank L. Horton Museum Center now houses MESDA, the Old Salem Toy Museum and the Old Salem Children's Museum. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, April 16, in the Old Salem Visitors Center auditorium. It is requested that donations and gifts in Mr. Horton's memory be given to MESDA (336-721-7360 or www.mesda.org).