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Heart of Pell City group announces Museum of Pell City
PELL CITY — A new museum is on the horizon for Pell City because of an agreement between a museum committee of Heart of Pell City and the city council.
According to a news release from Museum of Pell City Capital Campaign Chairman Carol Pappas, organizers have been working for years to establish a museum. She said the catalyst of the effort was a local history exhibit designed and created six years ago in conjunction with Pell City’s hosting of the Smithsonian exhibit, The Way We Worked. The 2014 exhibition was a partnership with Alabama Humanities Foundation (now Alabama Humanities Alliance).
Pappas said the local exhibit mainly centered on the founding of Pell City and Avondale Mills, but it also focused on other parts of the city’s history, including the creation of Logan Martin Lake.
She said the city is negotiating with organizers on a long-term use agreement for 4,000 square feet of space in Pell City’s Municipal Complex, which will not only house the local exhibit but the state bicentennial exhibit as well. AHA awarded Making Alabama. A Bicentennial Exhibit, worth an estimated $100,000, to Pell City as one of only five communities across the state to be awarded the exhibit on a permanent basis.
The local exhibit, Pell City Works, is valued at $40,000 and traces the city’s history from its founding — twice — to present day and beyond. It tells the story of the city’s evolution through old photographs, descriptive narratives and artifacts. More than 7,000 people from multiple states toured the exhibit during its five-week exhibition in 2014.
“These two exhibits will be an ideal complement to one another – the making of Pell City and the making of Alabama together under one roof,” Pappas said. “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
According to Pappas, the centerpiece of it will be impressive, local and state historical exhibits — interactive learning tools for students and history enthusiasts of all ages.
“Traveling exhibits and cultural programming also are part of the vision for this new museum, engaging audiences from near and far,” she said.
Also planned is an area dedicated to producing oral histories of citizens, which will be preserved and available as resources for years to come.
The release said the design of the museum is being created by professional designer Jeremy Gossett. Gossett, a native of Pell City, helped design the local exhibit in 2014, and he has designed and installed other museum exhibits in Alabama.
The release said moving and installation of the exhibits should begin in the coming weeks. Organizers say the museum should open by the end of the year.
“Pell City has a real opportunity to enhance the quality of life in our city while preserving its storied history through this museum,” Pappas said. “Our young people will especially benefit from the melding of local and state history in new, innovative and creative ways.”
The museum, she said, has an added opportunity to be “a destination point” for Alabama History students throughout the region.
“We thank the city for its support in bringing this dream to fruition,” Pappas said. “Without their support, none of this would have been possible. Their vision is to be commended, and the legacy it creates will last for generations.”
The release said those looking to learn more about the museum can go to: museumofpellcity.org. For regular updates on progress, follow @museumofpellcity on Facebook.
Tax deductible donations may be made to: Heart of Pell City Museum Fund, 1911 Cogswell Ave., Pell City, AL 35125.
Or, you may donate online at museumofpellcity.org/support-the-museum/.
Parallel to the overall fundraising effort, a Museum 100 recruitment program is underway, giving citizens an opportunity to make history themselves by becoming a charter member of the museum for $100. To join that effort, contribute $100 online at museumofpellcity.org/support-the-museum/