New Year, New Displays and New Goals for the Museum of Buford

New Year, new displays at the Museum of Buford (MOB)! Well, maybe not entirely new, as some of the signage and other items had previously been on display at the museum's old home on Main St.. Some--but not all, by any means, as boxes full of  never before displayed photos, ephemera and other historical treasures continue to be unpacked.

The MOB may still be settling in to its new home in the beautiful Buford Community Center and Theater, but the museum been an important part of the city since the late 1980s.

The History of the Museum of Buford:
The Museum of Buford started with Randy Wood and Sandy Sumner in 1986. The two owned and operated an antique store on Main Street, and were a part of the creative community that formed the Buford Artist Colony. In the mid-1980s, Randy had the foresight to begin collecting signage and memorabilia as long time businesses on Main St. either closed or moved elsewhere. Soon Buford citizens such as Dave Mabry, Pat Garner and Larry Bailey began donating items such as the Bona Allen Shoemakers' trophy collection and leather tools from the old Shoe Factory to Randy  After 15 years, Randy and Sandy moved to North Carolina, and turned over the collection to current curator, Lynn Bowman.

If ever there was anyone who was meant to be custodian to the city's historical past, it's Lynn. The Bowman's are among the earliest families in Buford, settling on land given to great great grandfather, John Bowman by Cherokee Chief Major Ridge. The original family log cabin, built with the help of three Cherokee braves, still stands today (moved from it's first location on Friendship Road to Sardis Church Road).

Lynn has a deep love of history, evidenced by his long time participation in preservation organizations and Historical Societies in the Macon area, not to mention his service on the Board of Trustees for the Macon Heritage Foundation. Along the way he's restored Victorian homes and operated antique shops. After returning to Buford in 1997 he purchased and restored the magnificent Victor Allen mansion as his family residence.

Lynn had known Randy Wood and Sandy Sumner for many years, and hearing their plans to retire and move away from Buford, he approached them about taking over the Museum on Main Street. As he said on the museum's original website "They knew it was a match." Lynn has been the curator and loving caretaker of Buford's history ever since. Under his guidance, the collection has grown, the museum has moved, and great things are in store for the future of the MOB.

Looking Forward: 

 So, what are the plans for the future of the MOB? In Lynn Bowman's own words:

"Rebecca asked me to give her some long time goals of the Museum for this week’s blog. I thought back to the goals that we established several years ago. The long and the short is, not much has changed . . . and everything has changed.

The first goal from yesteryear was to simply double the collection. The second goal was to increase our hours of operation from once a week to several days a week. The third goal was to create a website for increased accessibility of certain portions of the Museum’s collection. The final goal was to relocate into a larger, more accessible building. Looking back at these goals in the reverse order, we can say that we have made great progress, especially since our move into the Buford Community Center. With the new facility, accessibility should never be an issue again -almost anyone can now enjoy the collection. Our website was created by Buford High School as a pet project and has served us well, but because we no longer can service the site, it has become less effective and partially non-operational. Our hours of operation have tripled since our humble beginnings. We are now available to the public three days a week thanks to the effort of our dedicated volunteers. And for the first goal, that of doubling the collection . . . we can say that this milestone is within reach. Now, when we think of these goals, they are no longer adequate with where we are and where we want to be. Therefore, we want to recalibrate our sight, and rethink our goals for the future. Funny enough, these are the parts that do not seem to change.

1. Double the collection within 10 years from where we are today.
2. Increase hours of operation to 5 days a week.
3. Re-design the website, exponentially expand the number of photographs, and include more content.
4. Utilize our new facility for special events for Museum patrons.

Now these are the part where everything has changed. We couldn’t have thought of these in the past:

1. Increase our web presence through the Museum of Buford Facebook page and other social media outlets.
2. Continue providing articles of interest through blogging.
3. Use Instagram for up to the minute historical news – oh, just kidding about that one. I have two pre-teens and that is all they think about.
4. Become the leading facility for local and regional research.
5. Document and record oral histories of long time residents.
6. Create a database of those who support the Museum.

It is fun to look back at our progress, but it is even more exciting to look to our future and imagine how the Museum will grow and serve the community. Who knows what new goals we can set for ourselves as things change around us?"

Lynn Bowman

One last note: 

The Museum of Buford is dedicated to Handsel Grady Morgan, Buford's resident historian and author of Historic Buford: A History of the City of Buford through 1990 (City of Buford, 1993). 

Museum Mystery! 

Be sure to check out the photo section--the MOB is asking for some help in identifying an artifact that was unpacked during the recent move. We have a "Museum Mystery" on our hands. We know what it is, a logo stamp for bolo paddles (or paddle ball, as we called it in California), but we just don't know the history of the item and how it fits into Buford's past. Any information, even if you've seen this logo before, would be appreciated.

Rebecca