Westville (Georgia)

Last updated December 07, 2024

Historic Westville was a history museum representing a 19th-century Georgia town in Columbus, Georgia, United States.

Westville is a re-creation of a historic village with 17 furnished antebellum buildings. In the future, 14 more will be moved to their new site. The buildings were moved onto the museum site in Columbus to create an authentic village environment. Westville preserves, demonstrates, and interprets the life and culture of 19th century South Georgia. This is accomplished by maintaining an authentic village environment, collecting and preserving artifacts, demonstrating traditional work skills, and workshops and special events. Every day, "townspeople" in period dress demonstrate woodworking, dressmaking, blacksmithing, and other skills from the mid-19th century. Buildings include a courthouse, churches, stores, craft shops, and residences.

Westville moved to Columbus, Georgia from Lumpkin, Georgia and re-opened June 22, 2019. As of 2024, Westville is permanently closed.

Brief history of John Word West

The history of Westville is connected to Lt. Col. John Word West, a history professor at North Georgia College in Dahlonega. West was born in 1876 at a critical time of change in Georgia due to dramatic economic and social changes caused by the recent American Civil War (1861–65). Also, the great changes were brought on by the new growth of Atlanta and the subsequent decline of farming. As a child West spent many hours listening to his grandparents talk about the old way of life that was disappearing. West listened intently and absorbed the stories and learned the old skills. Later he would convert those experiences into his own museum where he preserved those stories and old skills. A high school and college teacher, West committed himself and his own money in 1928 to saving "Georgiana" - the buildings, tools, furniture, and work skills of Georgia's settlement. He admired the work of two other Americans who also took history into their own hands: Rockefeller and Ford. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (Standard Oil Company) had started Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia in 1927. Henry Ford (automobile maker) had started Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan in 1928. West engaged both men for advice and may have even traded artifacts with Ford.

Then, in 1928 John West opened "The Fair of 1850" on old Highway 41 in Jonesboro, Georgia, about twenty miles south of Atlanta. For West, the Fair was the Deep South version of Williamsburg and Greenfield Village. From 1932 to 1934, he moved the oldest buildings in his collection to the Fair's site. One of those buildings he moved to Jonesboro was his grandparents log house that he spent so much time in as a youth. Perhaps just as importantly, he and others demonstrated the "old-fashioned" crafts for the visitors - woodworking, cloth-making, open-hearth cooking, shoe-making, and the like.

West's cause was greater than his teacher's salary. It also turned out to be larger than the vision of Georgia's political leadership. West tried and failed to get the State to take over his project before he died in 1961.

Westville's Lumpkin Era

However, the Fair was far from finished. Its rescue came from deep within rural Georgia and not from state government in Atlanta. Five years after West's death, the citizens of Stewart County decided to create a new industry---heritage tourism. Stewart County was at the time making a transition away from its traditional agricultural economy. The county still had many buildings and artifacts from the pre-Civil War days. It also had people who had grown up with the handicrafts that West loved. In some respects, then, the Stewart County of 1850 still existed in 1966.

The salvation of the West collection came from a colleague who know John West, and probably spent time as a youth at his Fair of 1850 - Dr. Joseph Mahan, curator of the Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts (now Columbus Museum). Mahan took on the saving of West's legacy as his personal mission. Over dinner one evening at the Singers, Mahan explained the West Collection and his vision for the creation of a village where historic houses could be moved and saved, historic crafts and trades performed, and employ locals in the process. With much encouragement and leadership from Joseph Mahan, he received for the museum the donation of 59 acres of land on the south side of Lumpkin. Thus the establishment of Westville Historic Handicrafts in June, 1966.

Two of Historic Westville's interpreters, in the Singer House's parlor Singer Parlor.jpg — Two of Historic Westville's interpreters, in the Singer House's parlor

By 1969, the new museum had purchased the West Collection and opened to the public in Spring 1970. The six oldest buildings at the Jonesboro site were moved to Westville, along with many West artifacts. The rest of the collection has been assembled mostly by donation from many different people. In 2001 Westville Historic Handicrafts became Historic Westville with the goal of expanding interpretation from handicrafts to interpreting living history, demonstrations and crafts while telling the story of west Georgia history.

Westville's executive board chairman, Tripp Blankenship, had been seriously considering moving the living history museum to Columbus, Georgia.^[1]^[2] A protest against the plan was staged on October 23, 2014.^[3] As of July 2016, the Lumpkin site was closed.^[4]

New site

Historic Westville reopened on June 22, 2019 in Columbus, GA.^[5]^[6] The site is open Wednesday-Sunday to the public and offers school programs and field trips. Plans to expand interpretation and move other buildings from the Lumpkin site are being set in motion as funding allows.^[7]

Today, John West's contribution is appreciated in a larger context. With the exception of a few years in the 1960s, West's project has demonstrated "Georgiana" to the public continuously since 1928. Historic Westville therefore can rightly claim to be rooted in the third-oldest living-history project in America. Westville remains the lasting legacy of John West.

As of October 2019, Historic Westville has live demonstrations and crafting interpreters every day. They are dressed in clothing accurate for the time of 1840-1860. Their living historians engage the public with dialogue about living in South Georgia during the 19th century. Emphasis lies on the unique and diverse stories of the people that made the area of South Georgia their home.

Historic Westville currently has five interpreters that are skilled in traditional trades. Leatherworking and boot making are shown in the Singer Boot Shop, while South Georgia quilting is in the Singer House. Traditional carpentry is in West Wood Shop, while Blacksmithing is in the Woodruff Blacksmith Shop. Westville is also home to a dressmaker that hand stitches all of the clothing worn by employed interpreters at the site. Open hearth cooking will be available early winter 2019. Historic methods and techniques are used by the craftspeople. Tools from the time period are on display in the houses and occasionally, still used.^[8]

Westville is now permanently closed. ^[9]

Related Research Articles

Stewart County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,314. The county seat is Lumpkin. The county was created on December 23, 1830.

Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it officially merged in 1970; the original merger excluded Bibb City, which joined in 2000 after dissolving its own city charter.

Lumpkin is a city and county seat of Stewart County, Georgia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 891.

Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is similar to, and sometimes incorporates, historical reenactment. Living history is an educational medium used by living history museums, historic sites, heritage interpreters, schools and historical reenactment groups to educate the public or their own members in particular areas of history, such as clothing styles, pastimes and handicrafts, or to simply convey a sense of the everyday life of a certain period in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbus State University</span> Public university in Columbus, Georgia, US

Columbus State University is a public university in Columbus, Georgia. Founded as Columbus College in 1958, the university was established and is administered by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Pasaquan is a 7-acre (28,000 m²) compound near Buena Vista, Georgia. It was created by an eccentric folk artist named Eddie Owens Martin (1908–1986), who called himself St. EOM. An internationally renowned art site, it consists of six major structures including a redesigned 1885 farmhouse, painted concrete sculptures, and 4 acres (16,000 m²) of painted masonry concrete walls. In September 2008, Pasaquan was accepted for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Pasaquan was restored by the Kohler Foundation and Columbus State University between 2014 and 2016.

The Ledger-Enquirer is a newspaper headquartered in downtown Columbus, Georgia, in the United States. It was founded in 1828 as the Columbus Enquirer by Mirabeau B. Lamar who later played a pivotal role in the founding of the Republic of Texas and served as its third President. The newspaper is a two-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

WGBP-TV is a television station licensed to Opelika, Alabama, United States, affiliated with Merit Street Media. Owned by CNZ Communications, the station broadcasts from a two-site distributed transmission system, with transmitters at Cusseta and Warm Springs, Georgia.

Callaway Resort & Gardens is a 2,500-acre (1,000 ha) resort complex located near Pine Mountain in Harris County, Georgia, 18 miles (29 km) from LaGrange, Georgia. The world's largest azalea garden, this destination draws over 750,000 visitors annually. Callaway Gardens was ranked as Best Georgia Attraction in 2018 by USA Today.

The Museum of Early Trades & Crafts is a non-profit educational institution in Madison, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The museum's mission is:

The Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site is a Georgia state historic site located in Dahlonega that commemorates America's first gold rush and the mining history of Lumpkin County. The museum is housed in the historic Old Lumpkin County Courthouse built in 1836 and located in the center of the town square. It is the oldest surviving county courthouse in the state. The museum houses many artifacts from the gold rush of 1836, including gold nuggets, gold coins, and gold panning equipment, as well as an educational film and gift shop.

Kulturen is an open-air museum as well as a museum of cultural history in Lund, Sweden. Occupying two blocks in central Lund, Kulturen is Sweden's and the world's second oldest open-air museum after Skansen in Stockholm. It contains historic buildings, dating from the Middle Ages to the 1930s, set in gardens or cobblestone streets. The museum displays around 20 exhibitions with themes ranging from medieval archaeology to 20th century fashion. The museum collections include art and design, archaeology, photography, crafts, and ethnography. The Museum is managed by Kulturhistoriska föreningen för södra Sverige.

WHTY is a radio station licensed to serve Phenix City, Alabama, United States. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and licensed to iHM Licenses, LLC. WHTY operates as the Black Information Network affiliate for Columbus, Georgia. Its studios are in Columbus east of downtown, and its transmitter is southeast of downtown.

WCUG is a radio station licensed to the community of Lumpkin, Georgia and serves Columbus, Georgia and its metro area. Its studios are housed in the Carpenters Building on 9th Street on Columbus State University's RiverPark Campus.

Downtown Columbus, Georgia, also called "Uptown", is the central business district of the city of Columbus, Georgia. The commercial and governmental heart of the city has traditionally been toward the eastern end of Downtown Columbus, between 10th Street and 1st Avenue. Recent developments, particularly between Broadway and 2nd Avenue, have expanded the boundaries of the "central" part of the neighborhood. The term "Downtown Columbus" can also mean this smaller, more commercial area, particularly when used in the context of the city's nightlife and restaurants.

The Mott House was a historic residence constructed in 1839 in Columbus, Georgia. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It was destroyed by fire in 2014.

The National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum (NHHM) commonly known as National Crafts Museum in New Delhi is one of the largest crafts museums in India. It is run by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. The museum is situated on the corner of the Pragati Maidan, facing the Purana Quila complex. In 2015, the Government of India announced that a Hastkala (handicrafts) Academy would be established in the museum premises, converting some galleries into classrooms. Initial renovations destroyed one of the museum's most well-known artifacts, a room of murals painted by Madhubani artist Ganga Devi, leading to widespread criticism. As of 2019, renovations are still ongoing.

The Kansas City Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance fair held each fall in Bonner Springs, Kansas, United States, next to Sandstone Amphitheater. Each year the fair begins on Labor Day weekend and continues for seven weekends, open on Saturdays and Sundays as well as Labor Day and Columbus Day. The faire began in 1977 as a benefit for the Kansas City Art Institute, and became a stand-alone event in the late 1990s. Presently, the fair has 165 booths and 13 stages, entertaining 200,000 patrons annually on 16 operating days.

The Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village, formerly known as Agrirama, is a 19th-century living museum located in Tifton, Georgia. It opened on July 4, 1976. The grounds consist of five areas: a traditional farm community of the 1870s, an 1890s progressive farmstead, an industrial sites complex, rural town, national peanut complex, and the Museum of Agriculture Center.

The Old Chattahoochee County Courthouse was built in Cusseta, Georgia, in newly created Chattahoochee County in 1854. After it was no longer used and slated for demolition, it was moved to Westville, in Lumpkin, Georgia, an outside museum depicting life in west Georgia circa 1850. The Lumpkin location of Westville closed in July 2016, and in 2019, the museum was moved to Columbus, Georgia, near the Columbus Public Library.

References

↑ http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/02/02/2368835/westville-considers-moving-to.html , Ledger-Enquirer article, accessed 26 Nov 2013
↑ "About Us", Official website of Westville, accessed 4 Sep 2012
↑ Harris, Richard (29 October 2014). "Keep Westville in Lumpkin Rally draws big crowd" (fee required). No. Oct. 29, 2014. The Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
↑ "Westville website". Archived from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
↑ Harris, Richard (June 12, 2019). "Local History is Local No More" (fee required). No. June 12, 2019. The Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
↑ Dean, Allie. "We visited Historic Westville ahead of grand opening. Here's what visitors can expect". ledger-enquirer. Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
↑ "Home". westville.org. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
↑ "Home". westville.org.
↑ https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article285229077.html.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

Official website of Westville

32°22′54″N84°57′28″W / 32.3818°N 84.9578°W / 32.3818; -84.9578

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] ttp://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/02/02/2368835/westville-considers-moving-to.html , Ledger-Enquirer article, accessed 26 Nov 2013

[2] "About Us", Official website of Westville, accessed 4 Sep 2012

[3] Harris, Richard (29 October 2014). "Keep Westville in Lumpkin Rally draws big crowd" (fee required). No. Oct. 29, 2014. The Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}

[4] "Westville website". Archived from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2016-07-15.

[5] Harris, Richard (June 12, 2019). "Local History is Local No More" (fee required). No. June 12, 2019. The Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}

[6] Dean, Allie. "We visited Historic Westville ahead of grand opening. Here's what visitors can expect". ledger-enquirer. Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved 8 July 2019.

[7] "Home". westville.org. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2019-10-25.

[8] "Home". westville.org.

[9] ttps://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article285229077.html.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]