|
|
 |
|
When Westville Was In Atlanta Question: What does Westville have in common with Hootie & the Blowfish, Bare Naked Ladies, and Wide Spread Panic? (No, we're not loopy. These are names of currently popular rock bands) And the answer is: All have played at Lakewood Park in Atlanta. This is not a joke. Westville, believe it or not, played to more people than all three of the aforementioned internationally famous rock bands combined. At least, part of Westville did. It happened in October, 1935, when six Westville buildings and a quantity of artifacts were moved from Jonesboro to Lakewood Park for Atlanta's Southeastern Fair. These things were all part of the collection of "Georgianna" into a rudimentary living history museum south of Atlanta. Col. West was invited to move his museum to Atlanta as the centerpiece of the Cotton States Museum at the Fair. He took up the challenge, and the enormous count of 656,000 people saw his "Harvest Festival" at that time. It would be West's swan song, for when the museum moved back to Jonesboro at the conclusion of the Southeastern Fair, it faded as an attraction. His efforts to get the state to take over the Harvest Festival failed. When he died in 1961, he thought his museum was lost. It was indeed lost, at least for the next five years. Then Westville Historic Handicrafts, Inc. was founded to rescue the collection. By 1969, the collection had been reinstalled in its current and permanent home at Westville Village. So, on your next trip to Westville, look at the West House, the cotton baling press, the Farmhouse, the Campmeeting Tabernacle, and the two log houses with new respect. They are the biggest traveling act in the history of Atlanta except for the Olympics!
Home
| Calendar | Education
| Events | Membership
|
|
