Museum of Pell City

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The Museum of Pell City is a 4,000 square foot historical exhibit on display on the 2nd floor of the Pell City Municipal Complex at 1000 Bruce Etheredge Parkway in Pell City.

The installation originated with as a supplement to a "Museum on Main Street" touring exhibit organized by the Smithsonian Institution which was on view at the Pell City Center for Education and Performing Arts from July 19 to August 23, 2014. That exhibit, entitled "The Way We Work," highlighted the history of America's diverse workforce using materials drawn from the National Archives. It visited Athens, Hanceville, Demopolis and Dothan on its tour in Alabama.

The Smithsonian exhibit was supplemented by local and regional materials, including oral histories recorded by Alabama Public Television and documents from Avondale Mills and the construction of Logan Martin Dam and U.S. Highway 231. Pam Foote chaired the local committee, which collected artifacts and documents from local residents, and coordinated support from the Alabama Humanities Foundation, Norfolk Southern Railway and the Alabama Power Co. The Pell City Library assisted with arranging performances and other programs to coincide with the exhibition, dubbed "Pell City Works".

Since that exhibit closed, the local materials were held in storage by the non-profit Heart of Pell City until the present space above the library was donated by the city in 2021. A new non-profit for the museum was incorporated that year with a board of directors chaired by Carol Pappas. Volunteers finished out the museum space and helped assemble exhibits to designs by Jeremy Gossett.

New installations included the Alabama Bicentennial's "Making Alabama" exhibit, a model of Logan Martin Dam constructed with a $45,000 grant from the Alabama Power Foundation, an exhibit on St Clair County that had been assembled by Mary Mays and formerly displayed in the St Clair County Courthouse, and another set of oral history interviews on the theme of "War and Rememberence" conducted by Michelle Lee with support from the Alabama Humanities Alliance and the Colonel Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home.

The exhibit opened on March 3, 2023. The celebration was highlighted by a visit from singer Jeanne Pruett. The museum includes a "Living History Studio" for preservation of additional oral histories, built with a $25,000 grant from the Greater Pell City Rotary Community Endowment Foundation. The museum is free, and open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays or by appointment for group tours.

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