How much do you know about the history of Grovetown?
The two-story house, which once belonged to Charner McDonald, houses the Grovetown Museum, which opened in 2000. The items were all donated by Charles Lord, a historian and former city council member, who had been collecting them for decades. They include uniforms, old newspaper articles, photos, a variety of old machines, a military room, a model train and more.
“This building came into being, and that’s basically it you know,” Lord said. “I had all this stuff collected over the years, and started from there.”
There is a military section of the museum featuring different military uniforms, which Lord said is appropriate because of how close the city is to Fort Gordon. Some items are on display about William Few, who William Few Parkway is named after, Lord said. The museum also has a plethora of items on display about different people who have connections to Grovetown.
“Grovetown came into being because of this gentleman right here. His name was Paul Hamilton Hayne,” Lord said. “He was a famous writer and poet. He came here, they burned his house down during the Civil War. He had a mansion in Charleston, S.C., he came here and lived in a shack.”
Hayne was born in 1830 in Charleston, S.C. He wrote for the Southern Literary Messenger and edited Russell’s Magazine and the Charleston Gazette, according to the plaque in front of the museum. He moved to Georgia in 1865 to a home in Copse Hill, which was a mile west from the museum. During his time in Georgia, he wrote for Harper’s New Monthly and The Atlantic Monthly, along with writing three volumes of poetry. The plaque states he is buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Augusta.
There are pictures of the shack, along with a dictionary of American Writers that includes Hayne. The museum also has some flowers that Lord said are 132 years old that were sent to his grave.
Along the hallway wall is a timeline of Grovetown and the surrounding area from 1772 up until now, Lord said. Up on the second floor is a model train that came through the area, Lord said, along with a variety of other items.
The museum, which is free to visit, is located at 106 E. Robinson, right next to Grovetown City Hall, and is open noon to 4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. For more information, contact 706-863-4576, ext. 334.
“We would very much like them to come visit,” Lord said.
