Volume 23, No. 2 • Summer 2005

MUSEUM ON MAIN: AN UPDATE

Highlights of the move will be:

• The Museum will have two major components, a permanent exhibit area and a changing exhibit area.
• The changing exhibits section will provide a place for both locally-developed exhibits and for exhibits borrowed from other museums in Georgia or elsewhere, including the Smithsonian Museum.
• The Archives will occupy the second and third floors of the building. The Archives reading room and service area will be on second floor which will be renovated and updated for this renovated space.
• Avient, Inc., a design firm from Atlanta, is overseeing the museum exhibit development and Smith Design Group of LaGrange is handling the building renovations. Renovations for the building will begin in winter, 2006, and should take nine to twelve months.

Jenny Copeland, Fundraising Chair for MoM, reports that fund raising efforts have been successful but that more funds are still being sought. Major support has come from the Callaway Foundation and from private donors. Local businesses including Milliken Foundation and Charter Foundation have donated to the project as well. Museum on Main will be the benefactor of this fall's Junior Service League Follies.

FROM THE DIRECTOR:

In terms of researchers, we have had genealogists working on their family histories. These researchers have been from LaGrange, elsewhere in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and ??. People have been looking to make connections in their family lines and seeking the actual tombstones and final resting spots of their loved ones.

On May 31, 2005, Dave Williams wrote an article in the Albany Herald about genealogical tourism. The author interviewed staff members at the Georgia Department of Archives and History and at the Troup County Archives. In the article Kaye Minchew mentioned the great value of on-line genealogy but cautioned that nothing could replace researching in person and getting to know the locale where your ancestors lived.

He also interviewed three researchers from Gasden, Alabama, who were in LaGrange researching that day. The three women spent the day at the Archives, had lunch at a downtown restaurant, and may have visited one of our antique stores. They spent time at the Archives and spent money at downtown businesses. On a lighter note (for everyone ex cept the driver of the car), they also spent money in town paying a local locksmith when they locked their keys in their car. They were just three such researchers to visit this summer.

Researchers have had other motivations for using the collections housed at the Troup County Archives this summer. We get occasional visits from FBI agents, policemen and sheriff's deputies, and staff and from the D.A.'s office. They are usually requesting inactive case files or court records.

Our summer interns worked hard throughout the summer. They worked on updating the newspaper index (now indexed to Fall of 2003) and will continue to work on getting it even more up-to-date. They also helped us manage the records of the City and the County and helped microfilm government records. They also helped in planning for Museum on Main. They certainly livened up the Archives during the summer and did a lot of hard work in the process!

As anticipation builds for the Museum and for changes to our 1917 building at 136 Main Street, Archives staff members are beginning to plan for our own eventual move to the second floor. Second floor is now used for meetings and houses the kitchen. The meeting rooms are used faithfully by a few groups but are not in use the vast majority of the time. We will miss the convenience of having the meeting space on second floor, but using the space for the Archives will be much better utilization of the floor.

Moving the Archives to second floor will give more flexibility in arranging the local history library. Our current first floor space is beautiful but we have no more space to add books. We will develop an on-line card catalog. Some of our books may be stored on third floor and will be accessible upon request. We will also change our microfilm research area into a computer and microfilm area and make our computer databases even more accessible to our researchers.

Another benefit of the move will be increased archival storage space. Our third floor storage area is full and overflowing. During the move, we will be seeking additional off-site archival storage (meaning the storage area that will be secure and have heating and air conditioning systems operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.) This space is desperately needed and will allow the Troup County Archives to continue to grow and meet the needs of the West Georgia and East Alabama communities.

The upcoming year will be significant for the Troup County Historical Society, the Troup County Archives, and Museum on Main. It will not be an easy year as Archives staff will have to move twice, first into temporary quarters. The end result should be a very positive move for all concerned! Stay tuned for more details!

-- Kaye L. Minchew

SUMMER INTERNS

Though I did not grow up in LaGrange, it is a place that is close to my heart. As a child I spent the summers here with my grandparents, Dewey and Betty McKenzie. It was during those summers that my grandfather taught me to love history

Elizabeth VanDahm

and recognize its importance. We spent a lot of time visiting historic sites throughout the South, but especially in Troup County. When I was nine or ten we visited the Troup County Archives. There my grandfather taught me all you can teach a nine or ten year old about research and genealogy. My grandfather's love of history influenced my life more than I think he expected it to. I attended Coastal Carolina University and earned a B.A. in History while interning at the Horry County Historical Society. I am now a Masters tracked graduate student at Appalachian State University studying Public History and Cultural Resource Management. I hope to become involved with a career in historic preservation.

I chose this internship at the Troup County Archives for several reasons, but the most important was that I knew TCA would offer me experience and knowledge that would best compliment my graduate studies. I feel that because TCA does not limit itself to one narrow area, it would give me a variety of experience that I may be unable to get elsewhere. In the eight weeks that I have been an intern at TCA, I have learned about records management, the processing and management of collections, artifact preservation, and genealogical research. I was also lucky enough to come to TCA during the time of museum planning. I was given the opportunity to help plan for the exhibits. I not only learned about what is in volved in planning a museum, but I also learned a great deal about the history of Troup County.

Interning at TCA not only allowed me knowledge and experience, it allowed me to participate in the community by attending Historical Society luncheons and Rotary meetings. I feel that I could not have chosen a better learning environment to intern in than the TCA. This internship turned out to be a wonderful experience. I am grateful for all the TCA and its staff has taught me in preparation for a career in history.

Margaret Bagwell		Kerry Baxter

Margaret Bagwell is a Senior History Major at LaGrange College. She spent the summer working on newspaper indexing and assisting with reference. She graduated from Dublin High School and expects to attend graduate school next year.

Kerry Baxter is a native of LaGrange and a graduate of LaGrange High School. She will be a sophomore at Agnes Scott College this fall. Kerry is the daughter of Charlene and Mike Baxter and is a former State History Day winner.

TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY SUMMER INSTITUTE

The theme of the workshop was the Civil War. Each day, the teachers heard from history professors from various Georgia universities and took field trips in the afternoons to local Civil War sites. In the end, teachers increased their knowledge of the Civil War and its effect on the nation and the South. They also grained a greater appreciation of the sacrifices made by Troup County citizens between 1861 and 1865.

Five professors spoke to the teachers. They were Dr. David Williams, Dr. Keith Bohannon, Dr. Anne Bailey who also spoke to the Rotary Club, Bill Bragg, and Dr. Jonathan Bryant.

The week also featured several special guest speakers. The youngest speaker was Meagan Sharp, a student at West Side Magnet School. Meagan preformed her 2005 History Day performance entry. She won the local competition with her performance of first person accounts about children during the Civil War. Other special guests were Carol Cain, starring as one of the Nancy Harts. Carol served as our hostess at Bellevue, the National Landmark Home of Benjamin Harvey Hill. Nancy Hendrix and her daughter gave us a tour of Fort Tyler. They were in costume as one of the ladies of West Point and her daughter who lived near the fort.

The group also took several field trips during the week. In addition to touring Bellevue and Fort Tyler, the teachers took a walking tour of Broad Street and LaGrange College. They toured several cemeteries with Civil War connections, including Hill View, Stonewall, and West Point's Confederate Cemetery. While in West Point, they looked at the site were an underwater archeology study is occurring. Charles Kelly of the Archives' staff also spoke to the teachers about the project. They ended the week by visiting Hills and Dales where Colonel Oscar LaGrange and his men marched through on April 17, 1865. A highlight of the week came with a lunch visit to Ann and Bill Petry's home in Liberty Hill. The 1857 National Register home provided a perfect backdrop to discuss the Civil War letters of Ujanirtus Allen which were featured in the book Campaigning with Old Stonewall. It was a BUSY, BUSY week!

The teachers have to follow up this fall with a classroom project. Projects will include developing lesson plans related to the Civil War and Reconstruction that use local primary sources and photographs. Their students will thus become familiar with the experiences of Troup County residents during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Workshop leaders were Kaye L. Minchew and Barry Jackson from the Troup County Archives. Lou Ann Storey and Janet Solomon are coordinating the TAH grant project for the Troup County Schools.

By the end of the week, after earlier discussions with Social Studies teachers from throughout the school system, the theme for next year's summer institute had been decided: "Jazz, the Depression, and the New Deal" will look at the 1920s and 1930s in the nation and the South.

TAH Summer Institute Participants for the Summer 2005 workshop:

Blakely, Happy - West Side Magnet
Blakely, Willis - Franklin Forrest
Cavins, Howard - LaGrange High
Colley, Steve - Troup High
De'Mon, Misha - Long Cane Middle
Dorman, Randi - Hollis Hand
Hardenstein, Diana - Callaway High
Gaddy, Beth - Callaway Middle
Lanier, Jean - Callaway Middle
McGill, Kanada - Long Cane Elementary
Massey, JoAnn - Callaway Middle
Mayfield, Marc - LaGrange High Moon, Melba Callaway Middle
Moore, Teresa - Hollis Hand
Morris, Greg - Callaway Middle School
Quiggle, Glenn - Troup High
Reams, Melanie - LaGrange High
Slay, Ryan - LaGrange High
Smith, Linda - Callaway Middle
Stodghill, Julie - Troup High
Walls, Nancy - LaGrange High

The perfect summation for the week arrived in late July when Randi Dorman e-mailed details of her follow-up project. She reported that "I am looking forward to doing my Civil War lesson plans at Hollis Hand Elementary...My love of history has really been rekindled."

We are thrilled that her love of history has been rekindled and even more thrilled knowing that this love of history will be passed along to her students.

RECENT ACCESSIONS AT THE TROUP COUNTY ARCHIVES

RECENTLY PROCESSED COLLECTIONS

Inventories to these collections are available for viewing at the website of the Troup County Archives here. Look under the Holdings and Databases and then check the Manuscripts section OR use the search key at any point OR come into the Archives and look at the collections in person!

HISTORY DAY NATIONAL PARTICIPANTS!

• Alex Kirby
• Garrett Cole
• Phillip Smith
• Emilee Manning
• Richard Bryant
• Rebecca McCoy
• Linda He
• Billie Anne Hardigree
• Georgia Mignon Major
• Allison Branch

ARTIFACT SPOTLIGHT:
Wheel found in Chattahoochee River

This wheel was found lying on the bottom of the Chattahoochee River in West Point. It was donated by the West Georgia Underwater Archeological Society. It has been cleaned, chemically treated, and coated so that it will not deteriorate in air -- away from the watery resting place where it spent the last hundred plus years. This wheel is metal and probably came from a steamboat that sank in the 1880s. For more information on the West Point dives or the Society, contact Charles Kelly at the Archives at 706-884-1828.