Join us for upcoming events
Beyond Rosie….This exhibit will be in hallway at the museum along with an article about the Eatonton women during WWII who stepped up and took over positions in the city when men went to war. It will be at the Old School History Museum from April 20-May 31st. More information coming soon!
Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit awarded to Georgia Writers Museum in collaboration with Georgia Humanities. This exhibit is part of the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program, which provides access to the Smithsonian Institution for small-town America.
LOCATION: Putnam County Administration Building - 117 Putnam Dr., Eatonton, GA
HOURS: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10 am - 4 pm. Thursday 2 pm - 8 pm
FREE ADMISSION
Putnam County is the first of only six towns in Georgia to receive this exhibit designed to celebrate, educate, and inspire attendees. It highlights the history of democracy in America and how voices (advocacy and protest) and votes have shaped our county. This exhibit comes to Georgia during the 250th birthday of the United States—America250.
Georgia Writers Museum and the Old School History Museum are leading the community-wide effort to host the exhibit at the Putnam County Administration Building. In addition to the exhibit from the Smithsonian, an auxiliary exhibit will spotlight the history of democracy in Putnam County.
During the six-week run of Voices and Votes in Putnam County, community partners are hosting auxiliary exhibits, presenting panel discussions, discussing readings, staging choral events, and opening visual art shows designed to celebrate and discuss American democracy. Partners include Eatonton Main Street, Butler-Baker Alumni Association, Putnam County Charter High School, Eatonton-Putnam County Library, The Artisans Village Art Gallery, Festival Hall, Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, the Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce, The Eatonton Messenger, and many others.
Arch began his career with the Cooperative Extension Service as a Carroll County Extension agent in 1985. While in Carrollton, Arch earned a Master of Public Administration from West Georgia College and State University. In 1988, he was selected to serve as the Rock Eagle 4-H Center Coordinator, an Extension 4-H Specialist position. He became the Associate State 4-H Leader for Facilities and Residential Programs in 1995; in 1998 he took on additional responsibility as the Georgia 4-H Foundation Executive Director. Learn More >
Did you know that the largest paleontology collection in Georgia is housed just half an hour away from Eatonton? Did you also know that one of Eatonton’s own has been managing and curating the collection for over 20 years? This lecture will cover the fossil collections housed at the William P. Wall Museum of Natural History at Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, Georgia.
Back by popular demand! The August Adventure at the Old School History Museum is an Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social event. Free fun for the whole family! Join us along with the Arts Barn for a variety of activities, dancing, singing, games, and of course, ICE CREAM!
Remember the time when families shared the Sunday newspaper? First, Mom & Dad read the front-page news, then Mom enjoyed the Home and Garden section while Dad caught up on the sports news. Right here in Georgia, we have two men, a father/son team, who are making history with their skillful blending of the two forms of journalism paper!
Before streaming, CDs, tapes, and vinyl records there were 78s- the first mass medium for recorded music, spanning the late 19th century through the early 1950s. Eatonton resident and world music collector, Richard Garrett, will discuss and play five fascinating 78 rpm records from his collection….
Speaker: Dr. Eric Tenbus, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, GCSU
Topic: “The History of Beer” (Need we say more?)
We had so much fun last year with the Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social we’re bringing it back this year! Join us again for a step back in time and a day full of family fun in our annual August Adventure!
Speaker: Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr. with the Society of Georgia Archivists
Title: “Climbing the Family Tree”
Join us for the Grand Opening of a new, permanent museum exhibit. We will unveil the NEW Sports Wall of Fame - featuring the 11 Hall of Fame athletes from Eatonton. Special presentation and announcements at this Sunday at the Museum event.
Mary Lacksen is a Georgia Master Beekeeper and operates BeeCo Apiaries near Sparta, Georgia. She began her beekeeping journey in 2009 and manages about 100 hives for queen rearing, nucleus hive and honey production.
August Adventure - Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social with games afterward - fun for the whole family.
This summer, the Hargrett’s traveling exhibit will visit 7 libraries around the state for the sports exhibit. Only one city, Eatonton, will have a display at both the local library and a history museum! Save the date and be sure to join us!
Topic: “Architecture in Georgia: 1800 -1940”
Speaker: Mauriel Joslyn, Award-winning author of both non-fiction and novels, also film writer and college professor
Topic: “Chief Alexander McGillivray” (18th Century Creek Indian Chief)
Speaker: Dr. William Rawlings, Award-winning author and retired physician
Topic: “Lighthouses of the Georgia Coast”
August Adventure! “Medicinal Plants from the Past” with Guest: Katy Ross, plant specialist.
Join us for an afternoon of family learning and fun; we will have special activities for children!
Speaker: Dr. Harold Mock, GCSU History Professor and Director of Leadership Programs
Topic: “Living in a Nuclear World”
Speaker: Jason Hasty, Archivist/ Sports Specialist at the Hargrett Library
Topic: “Saving Bulldog Sports History”
Speaker: Loran Smith, Author and Sports Historian, UGA
Topic: “The Fallout from being a Dawg with Serendipitous Travel Options”
Bill Kurtz, grandson of Wilbur G. Kurtz, Georgia's preeminent artist-historian, will present “Wilbur G. Kurtz: Technical Advisor to Hollywood.” He will tell the story of his celebrated grandfather’s friendship with Margaret Mitchell and his contribution to the filming of Gone With the Wind, Song of the South, and The Great Locomotive Chase.
Among the many contributions of Kurtz, Sr. was his supervision of the restoration of the Cyclorama painting in the 1930’s. In the 1940’s he also served as a consultant for the establishment of the Little White House Memorial to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Warm Springs, Georgia.
Come to the Old School History Museum’s Sunday lecture series and hear Bill Kurtz tell these and other stories of his celebrated grandfather Wilbur.
While there, be sure to visit the museum’s “Windows in Time” exhibit featuring the films Kurtz supervised!
The lecture begins at 2:00 and usually lasts about 45 minutes. Guests are welcome to tour the museum and speak with our docents before or after the lecture.
Admission is free but donations are appreciated.
The Ocmulgee Archaeological Society (OAS) in partnership with the Eatonton Old School History Museum will hold its Archaeology Day on Saturday, August 7th, 2021, from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. This event is FREE and open to the public. Please join us for an afternoon of family-friendly archaeological activity and education as we celebrate Georgia’s archaeology.
This year’s Eatonton’s Old School History Museum Archaeology Day will feature artifact identification, pottery making, primitive skills, and Native American stories and games sessions, a Union Church Churchyard Tour, and a special guest speaker.
The OAS is a non-profit chapter of the Society for Georgia Archaeology that has been serving the Middle Georgia area for 19 years. The OAS promotes the preservation and scientific excavation of archaeological sites and educates the public about Georgia’s past.
If you would like more information about The OAS’s Archaeology Days, please contact the OAS at: ocmarcsoc@gmail.com.
As the OSHM team prepares for Archaeology Day, this year’s August Adventure, we thought you might enjoy reading Lyn Romine’s article on the Rock Eagle effigy.
Eric Tenbus is a Professor of History and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. He holds a BA in Professional Writing from Carnegie Mellon University, MA in Communication from Florida State, MA in History from Florida State, and his PhD in British history, also from Florida State. He is a published author and contributor to scholarly publications.
Dean Tenbus will discuss the complex historical forces that led up to the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914, a war that far surpassed previous conflicts in cost and brutality. When it was clear that the war would not be over, as initially thought, by Christmas 1914, and as the casualties mounted and the horrors of total war became apparent, it appeared that the world had truly gone mad.
The lecture begins at 2:00 pm and usually lasts about 45 minutes. The lecture will be held in the theater for “social distancing” purposes. In observance of CDC guidelines, there will be no refreshments after the lecture. Guests, however, are welcome to tour the museum, enjoy the exhibits, and speak with our docents afterward.
Admission is free but donations are appreciated.
Voices From the Great War is an eight-panel traveling exhibition about World War I. Explore the history of World War I, told through the voices of individuals who experienced it. These diverse perspectives provide insights into a war that shattered expectations and propelled the world into the modern era.
This free exhibit is available for self-guided tours from April 23 –May 28, during regular museum hours on Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Voices from the Great War was curated by MHHE staff and Public History students at Kennesaw State University.
THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 10, 2021
The Old School History Museum is proud to be hosting another traveling exhibit from Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and Holocaust Education. The exhibit, “ Georgia Journeys: Legacies of World War II” continues our recognition of the 75th Anniversary of World War II.
The Georgia Writers Museum will host an exhibit of photography from the collection of P.H. Polk from November 18, 2020, through January 3, 2021. This is a FREE program…
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Visit the Old School History Museum for a new display that pays tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen. This is a FREE exhibit and no reservations are required.
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