Meriwether County Historical Society Museum

Meriwether County Historical Society Museum is a historical museum located in Greenville, Georgia, dedicated to preserving the history of Meriwether County, Georgia and its surrounding areas, including Coweta County, Georgia and Troup County, Georgia. The museum is operated by the Meriwether County Historical Society, a non-profit organization founded by local historians, including Eleanor Roosevelt's cousin, Anna Hall Roosevelt, and Jimmy Carter's uncle, Tommy Carter. The museum's mission is to collect, preserve, and exhibit artifacts and documents related to the history of Meriwether County, Georgia, with a focus on the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, as experienced by notable figures such as Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.

● History

The Meriwether County Historical Society was established in 1975 by a group of local historians, including Margaret Mitchell's niece, Josephine Mitchell, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s colleague, Ralph Abernathy. The society's first project was to restore the Old Courthouse in Greenville, Georgia, which was built in 1893 and features a similar architecture to the Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta, Georgia, designed by E. Mitchell and Franklin Pierce Burnham. The restoration project was supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Georgia Historic Preservation Division, with guidance from experts such as James Marston Fitch and Carter Wiseman. The museum officially opened its doors in 1980 with an exhibition on the history of Meriwether County, Georgia, featuring artifacts from the Troup County Archives and the University of Georgia's Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

● Collections

The museum's collections include a wide range of artifacts and documents related to the history of Meriwether County, Georgia, including American Civil War memorabilia, such as a Confederate flag and a Union uniform, similar to those found in the National Museum of American History and the Museum of the Confederacy. The museum also has an extensive collection of photographs and documents related to the Reconstruction Era, including letters from Frederick Douglass to William Lloyd Garrison and Susan B. Anthony's speeches, as well as materials from the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration. Additionally, the museum has a collection of artifacts related to the agricultural history of Meriwether County, Georgia, including farm tools and equipment similar to those used by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello and George Washington at Mount Vernon. The museum's collections are also supplemented by loans from other institutions, such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Georgia Museum of Art.

● Exhibitions

The museum features a variety of exhibitions throughout the year, including permanent exhibitions on the history of Meriwether County, Georgia and the American Civil War, as well as temporary exhibitions on topics such as the Civil Rights Movement and the history of agriculture in Meriwether County, Georgia. The museum has also hosted exhibitions on the history of nearby cities, such as Newnan, Georgia and LaGrange, Georgia, in collaboration with the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society and the Troup County Historical Society. The museum's exhibitions are designed to be interactive and engaging, with hands-on activities and multimedia presentations similar to those found in the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The museum also offers guided tours, led by knowledgeable docents such as David McCullough and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

● Facilities

The museum is located in a historic building in Greenville, Georgia, which was originally built in 1850 as a mercantile store and features a similar architecture to the Old State Capitol building in Milledgeville, Georgia. The building was restored in the 1970s by the Meriwether County Historical Society with the help of the National Park Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, under the guidance of experts such as Lee H. Nelson and Charles E. Peterson. The museum's facilities include exhibition galleries, a research library, and a gift shop selling items related to the history of Meriwether County, Georgia, such as books by local authors like Flannery O'Connor and Erskine Caldwell. The museum also has a meeting room available for rent, which is equipped with audio-visual equipment and can accommodate events such as lectures by noted historians like Eric Foner and Nell Irvin Painter.

● Programs

The museum offers a variety of programs and events throughout the year, including lectures by historians such as David Blight and Annette Gordon-Reed, workshops on topics such as genealogy and historic preservation, and living history events featuring re-enactors portraying figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman. The museum also offers educational programs for school groups, including tours and hands-on activities similar to those found in the National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. The museum's programs are designed to be engaging and interactive, with a focus on community outreach and partnerships with other historical organizations, such as the Georgia Historical Society and the National Coalition for History. The museum also participates in statewide events, such as the Georgia History Festival and the National History Day competition, in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities.