This story was updated on Dec. 13 to correct the spelling of Long John Silver’s name.
After more than two decades of preserving the history of Black Americans in Northwest Georgia, the Walker County African American Historical and Alumni Association will open its own museum in LaFayette, Georgia.
The Walker County African American Museum and Cultural Center will have its grand opening at 1 p.m. Dec. 17. The museum will be housed in the Wardlaw Building at 309 Main St., a former Long John Silver’s location that was donated to the county.
Beverly Foster, the organization’s founder and president said getting to this point took a true community effort.
On a tour of the museum, Foster said she started telling the story of Black Americans in Walker County by setting up exhibits at events and even banks. Beginning with what she called a poster-board museum, it grew over the years, she said, and having a museum in the county-owned building is a big step forward.