Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Museum adds medical exhibit
The following appeared in the January 29, 2009 edition of The Augusta Chronicle:
"Museum adds medical exhibit"
By Nikasha Dicks Staff Writer
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Augusta Museum of History has added a couple of new exhibits.
A Community That Heals exhibit opened Jan. 16 and chronicles 200 years of medicine in the area, said Rebekah Henry, marketing and membership manager for the museum.
"It's a stellar exhibit," she said. "It shows the way health care in Augusta and the CSRA has transformed over the years. It also focuses on the speciality areas that this area has been adept in providing.
The exhibit, which is a permanent addition to the museum, includes artifacts from area hospitals, a uniform from Barrett's School of Nursing and images from the 1960s, when the nursing schools were integrated. (read more...)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Artifact of the Day - Springfield Baptist Church Wall Sconce
The Augusta Museum of History curates some 40,000 artifacts a year. Meaning that in our 72 year history, something like 2.8 million artifacts have probably gone through our doors. Now granted, a single letter is considered an artifact and certainly is not any where near the size of a stuffed bison (yes we have a stuffed bison in our collection), but it still is remarkable that our community's history will continue to be preserved thanks to the Museum and other local agencies.
I thought I'd show off a few of artifacts maybe you don't always necessarily notice when you walk through the galleries.
Today we're featuring a beautiful early gas wall sconce from the original Springfield Baptist Church, on display in Augusta's Story. Springfield Baptist Church was Springfield traces its roots to 1773, making it the oldest black church of any denomination in America. Served by African American pastors during the antebellum period, Springfield had the largest membership of any church in the Georgia Baptist Association. In 1844 if moved from Greene Street to its current location on 12th Street in downtown Augusta.
Springfield had an incredible history - in 1859, Springfield offered Sunday school instruction in, even though such classes were banned by the prevailing slave codes. In 1866, the church hosted the first meeting of the postwar Georgia Equal Rights Association, which became the Georgia Republican Party in 1867. The Augusta Baptist Institute was founded at the church; twelve years later it moved to Atlanta and grew into the legendary Morehouse College.
Be sure to look out for this incredible artifact at your next Museum visit. Matching pairs of this same sconce still hang today in the old sanctuary at 114 12th Street. Read more at http://www.historicspringfieldaugusta.org/.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Last minute Exhibit prep
I went upstairs this morning to check out the progress on our newest exhibition, A Community that Heals. The exhibit is an expansion and reconfiguration of our former permanent exhibit on the history of health care, The Art of Healing, previously located where The Godfather of Soul now is.A Community that Heals will open in just over a week - on January 15 to our members and invited guests and to the general public on Friday, January 16. It chronicles the history of medicine in the CSRA - a long-standing tradition that began in 1818 when the first hospital was constructed on the lower end of Greene Street.
Since that first hospital - known then as "City Hospital", Augusta and the Central Savannah River Area has continued its role today as a modern day player in state-of-the art health care and medical advancement for nearly two hundred years.
Be sure to come by and check out the exhibit next week! And for all interested in what really goes on behind the scenes, here's a sneak peak at the status of the exhibition so far.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
2009 Brown Bag History Series kicks off with Dave the Potter Author
While researching his family history, Todd discovered that one of the most famous slave artisans of the antebellum South had been owned by his family. He traveled from his home in Manhattan to South Carolina, where he sifted through records of slavery, rebellion, and war to uncover Dave's stirring story. Carolina Clay: The Life and Legend of Slave Potter Dave was published in October 2008 by W.W. Norton and was recently reviewed in the October 20, 2008 edition of Newsweek. His Brown Bag lecture will unveil the story of how he discovered his ties to Dave the Potter, the history of Dave's life, and the impact and significance his pottery had on antebellum art.
Todd is also the author of Squaring Off, a novel for young adults, published by Viking Penguin and optioned for a feature film. An earlier young adult novel, The Best Kept Secret of the War, was published by Alfred A. Knopf and optioned for a television special. Both books were set in areas of the South that Todd knew well when he was growing up. Other fiction publications include short stories in Cosmopolitan and elsewhere. An original screenplay, Honkytonk, was optioned for a movie musical.
His nonfiction publications include Trash Can Toys & Games, a recycling book for children, published by Viking Penguin. Prototypes of the toys he designed for the book were exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in a long-running show. He has published articles in Travel & Leisure and other travel publications, has covered architecture in Mexico, oysters in Ireland, golf in Morocco, and beaches on Mykonos.
Todd graduated from Yale College and from the Yale School of Art and Architecture. He is a former Fulbright Scholar to France. He has been a resident at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and now resides with his wife in Edgefield, South Carolina.
The Brown Bag History Series is an educational lecture series provided monthly by the Augusta Museum of History, and is an ideal lunch-time break for downtown professionals, retirees, and students. The lectures are free to members and $3 for non-members. Participants should bring a lunch and the Museum provides beverages and dessert. Refreshments are served beginning at 11:30 a.m.; the lecture runs from 12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Gingerbread House winners
The annual Holiday Gingerbread Village was a smashing success. The incredible gingerbread houses were on display November 21 - 30, 2008, and we've still had people calling asking that the display be extended through December in 2009!
The winners were as follows:
Chef Marvin Herrera, Executive Chef of the Augusta Country Club, won the People's Choice Award. Hundreds of patrons cast their votes for their favorite gingerbread house over a period of 10 days. This depiction of the Old Club House won People's Choice!
Most Artistic was won by Tereasa Lily of Tres Bon Catering for her creation of the Augusta National Golf Club.
Brigette Pedroza won Third Place for her precise recreation of the Appling Courthouse in Appling, GA.
Casey Igel of Augusta won Second Place for her depiction of the Church of the Good Shepherd:
And Jennifer Mooney of Midville won first place (the third year in a row!) for her depiction of Williams Antiques, located in Waynesboro, Georgia:
Check the Museum website in August 2009 for an application to participate in the 2009 Holiday Gingerbread Village and enter for your chance to win $1,000 Grand Prize!
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