Angels Camp Museum Welcomes New Director, Craig Hadley

New Director, Craig Hadley

Craig Hadley is a South Carolina native and a graduate of the University of South Carolina, but has lived all over the United States as well as overseas. He has been a successful museum professional and public historian for more than 20 years.

In the museum field he has worked in all areas, from designing exhibits that include the nationally recognized interactive children’s museum The Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee to designing and project managing the building of an entire museum from the ground up with the Tennessee Civil War Museum. He has owned his own museum consulting company in the past, which has consulted on various museum exhibits, collections, and documentary films that include The Upcountry History Museum in Greenville, South Carolina, Patriot’s Point Maritime Museum and The National Congressional Medal of Honor Museum in Charleston, S.C. He has created a number of award-winning museum educational programs for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students while working for the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a Director of Education & Research.

Craig has also worked as a consultant for the History Channel, as an independent producer of historic content for American Online, Inc., a documentary film maker, and motion picture historical consultant, as well as an assistant professor of history where he specialized in teaching military history from the American Revolution through World War II, African-American slave history, as well as film history and archaeology.

Over the years, Craig has worked with the United States military as a consultant and instructor for officer-in-training educational staff rides teaching the history and military tactics of the American Revolution and the Civil War to officers from Fort Benning, Ga., Chief of the Army Signal Corps staff, the Provost Marshal Officers Training School, the Chaplain’s School at Fort Jackson, SC and visiting NATO officers. Finally, before moving to California, Craig was a commissioned officer and the chief military historian for the South Carolina State Guard.

Among his many awards over the years, Craig was awarded the 2009 Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation Honor Award for his work designing and project managing the Magnolia Plantation African-American Slave Cabin Project known as “From Slavery to Freedom.” This large and innovative three-year museum project that included restoring four antebellum slave cabins back to various time periods of occupation, culminated with its grand opening on March 1, 2009. The public educational program he created for this finished project was recently awarded the 2010 Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation Heritage Tourism Award.

Craig moved to the Coachella Valley in Southern California in January of 2010 to be with his fiancée, Jesse Siess, who is also a museum professional and at the time was the Executive Director of the Coachella Valley History Museum. A few months later, Craig accepted the position of Executive Director of the General Patton Memorial Museum. Craig and Jesse were married in October of 2010, and in December, she accepted the job as the new Executive Director of the Tahoe Maritime Museum, prompting their move to Northern California. Craig is excited about his new role as Director of the Angels Camp Museum and looks forward to working with the volunteers and staff of the museum as it continues to move forwar