Westville, also known as Historic Westville Village, is a living, open-air history museum that depicts a mid-19th-century Georgian town. It opened in Lumpkin, Georgia in 1970, relocated to Columbus, Georgia in 2016, and reopened to the public in 2019.[1] The museum features historic buildings, interpreters, and demonstrations of traditional crafts representing the period 1840–1870.
The history of Westville is connected to Lt. Col. John Word West, a history professor at North Georgia College in Dahlonega.[2] West was born in 1876, at that time when Georgia was undergoing significant economic and social changes following the American Civil War (1861–65). These changes were associated with the growth of Atlanta and a decline in farming. As a child, West listened to his grandparents describe ways of life that were gradually disappearing. He later drew on these experiences to create a museum intended to preserve related stories and skills.
West worked as a high school and college teacher. In 1928, he devoted his personal funds to preserving "Georgiana", including buildings, tools, furniture, and work skills associated with Georgia's early settlement. He admired the work of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who had started Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia in 1927, and Henry Ford, who had started Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan in 1928. West sought advice from both men and may have traded artifacts with Ford.[3]
In 1928, John West opened "The Fair of 1850" on old Highway 41 in Jonesboro, Georgia, about twenty miles south of Atlanta. From 1932 to 1934, he moved the oldest buildings in his collection to the Fair's site. One of the buildings he moved to Jonesboro was his grandparents' log house. He and others demonstrated traditional skills for visitors, including woodworking, cloth-making, open-hearth cooking, and shoemaking.
West attempted to have the state take over his project but was unsuccessful. He died in 1961.[4]
Lumpkin site
Historic Westville's Lead Blacksmith working at his forge
Five years after West's death, the citizens of Stewart County decided to develop heritage tourism as a new local industry. The county was transitioning away from its traditional agricultural economy. However, the county still had many buildings and artifacts from the pre-Civil War period, along with people who had grown up using handicrafts from that time.
Dressmaker at Historic Westville
The preservation of the West collection was made possible in part through the efforts of Dr. Joseph Mahan, a colleague of West's. Mahan, who is reported to have visited West's Fair of 1850 as a youth, was also the curator of the Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts (now Columbus Museum).
One evening, over dinner at the Singers' home, Mahan outlined a plan for the West Collection. He proposed creating a village where historic houses could be moved and preserved, traditional crafts and trades could be demonstrated, and locals could be employed. Subsequently, the museum received a donation of 59 acres of land on the south side of Lumpkin. This marked the establishment of Westville Historic Handicrafts in June 1966.
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 the spring of 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 donations from individual donors. In 2001, Westville Historic Handicrafts became Historic Westville in order to expand interpretation beyond handicrafts to broader living history, including demonstrations and crafts.
Westville's executive board chairman, Tripp Blankenship, considered moving the Living History Museum to Columbus, Georgia.[5][6] A protest against the plan was held on October 23, 2014.[7] By July 2016, the Lumpkin site was closed.[8]
Columbus site
Historic Westville reopened on June 22, 2019, in Columbus, Georgia.[9][10] Plans were announced to expand interpretation and move other buildings from the Lumpkin site subject to available funding.[11]
As of October 2019, Historic Westville offered live demonstrations and interpreters describing crafts. The interpreters wore clothing from the 1840-1860 period and presented information about living in South Georgia and the people who lived there during the 19th century.
Westville closed in February 2024.[12] It later hired a new director, April Kirk, and reopened in November 2025.[13] The site is open every Friday and Saturday from 10am until 4pm. Group tours and special programs are scheduled throughout the week.
Historic Westville currently employs twelve historic interpreters who demonstrate 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 the West Wood Shop, while Blacksmithing is in the Woodruff Blacksmith Shop. A dressmaker produces clothing worn by interpreters at the site. Many demonstrations use historic methods and techniques. Tools from the period are on display in the houses and occasionally still used.[14]
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