Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park works to protect and share the history of the region, and now the Friends of Sycamore Shoals are working to protect the history inside the park.

The Friends are organizing an auction that will be held on Nov. 13 as a fundraiser to purchase decorative displays to protect the exhibits inside the living history museum in the Visitor’s Center.

“We really need to protect the exhibits and the mannequins in the museum,” Sycamore Shoals employee and Friends of Sycamore Shoals member Johnnie Pilk said. “People like to touch, feel and explore on the mannequins, but they are really delicate.”

The mannequins in the museum are made to be historically accurate to the 18th century, Pilk said. The mannequins were made with historically accurate clothing, and even feature real hair to make them more realistic.

“These are not your typical mannequins,” Pilk said. “They are more fragile, and even the oils from our hands can cause them to degrade and start to have damage.”

In order to have items available in the auction, the Friends of Sycamore Shoals are reaching out to local businesses and civic organizations to see if any items or services can be donated for the event.

The auction already has received pictures of Eli Manning and Butch Jones, an 18th-century beaded necklace, new clothing items and several other pledges for things to be included, Pilk said.

The Sycamore Stitchers, a local quilting club, presented a hand-made quilt to Pilk on Wednesday as a donation for the auction. The quilt was made by the club as a whole. The quilt was paper pieced and then stitched together by the members of the club. The quilt will be on display in the Visitor’s Center in July, Pilk said.

For more information on the auction, call Pilk at 543-5808.