Much more than the history of Pell City on display
As Museum of Pell City approaches its third birthday, it’s hard to imagine a ‘down time’ for this quickly growing museum.
On Feb. 5, the museum will present its third edition of the Breaking Barriers series focusing on the Black community and its place in the city’s history. Headed by Museum Board Member Tonya Forman, its popularity has grown right along with the program itself.
This year’s theme is Education: Foundation for Success and pays tribute to the early Black educators whose guidance and compassion transformed the lives of Pell City students.
The day’s program, which begins at 11 a.m. features a reception and a film premiere of family and former students of these educators on the legacy of their impact. It will also mark the opening of an expanded Breaking Barriers exhibit.
Opening the next day, Feb. 6, and extending for two weeks until Feb. 21 is an art show by Sundi Hawkins. The show is a continuing series of the museum, giving the art community a home to display their works.
The museum board invested in a hanging system, and the exterior walls of the atrium just outside the museum have already displayed the creations of artist Nettie Bean and her students, a spectacular quilt show and Duran Jr. High’s art show. The quilt show will return in 2026, and more art shows are scheduled.
In December, the museum’s art gallery hosted the wood carvings of Eric Knepper, intricate, creative pieces of artwork crafted by the local artisan.
Upcoming are shows by Penny Arnold, Williams Intermediate students, a return of Nettie Bean and her students and the Helen Keller Foundation Art Show of Alabama.
In November, the museum opened an expansion of its military section and added a flight simulator, which is already drawing crowds of young and old alike. Designed by Jeremy Gossett, the simulator resembles the cockpit of a Boeing aircraft with a curved monitor that displays various flight patterns including Pell City and Logan Martin, Mosul and the French countryside.
The software is highly sophisticated and gives museum visitors a real feel of flight – from takeoff to landing. It was made possible by a special fundraiser providing nearly $7,000 to build and equip it.
In April, just a few days past its third anniversary, the museum is celebrating with the official opening of its long-anticipated model train exhibit – Where It All Began. Headed by retired architect Malcolm Sokol with a team of volunteers – David Smith, Max Jolley, Erik Grieve and Winston Greaves – it took a year to build.
The 16-foot train runs through a replica of 1920s-30s Pell City and will be surrounded by artifacts, narratives and photos depicting the train’s history in Pell City. After all, that is where it all began – when founder Sumter Cogswell missed his train to Talladega in 1890 and spent the night in what is now Pell City.
Nationally known artist Dirk Walker has donated an original painting of a Pell City train depot that will be used as a fundraiser for the museum.
An evening reception is planned along with tributes to the museum’s volunteers and naming “Volunteer of the Year.”
“We are so humbled by the community support we have been given since our opening,” said President Carol Pappas. Our docents give their time every week to guide visitors through our museum. We could not operate without them, and we are so appreciative of their work.”
Pappas lauded the dedication of the team who built the train, which now will be a centerpiece of the museum’s exhibits. “They met every Monday night for an entire year to assemble each rail of the track, recreate historic buildings from scratch, hand paint and place miniature figures throughout the town and so much more. It is so realistic. It is a must see. We cannot thank them enough.”
She noted that the museum is in the midst of a capital campaign, and businesses and individuals have stepped forward with multi-year sustaining funds. “They are the very foundation of our museum,” Pappas said.
“Recognizing the importance of cultural arts in our community as educational, historical, an enhancement to quality of life and a boost to tourism, the City of Pell City and St. Clair County have been supportive with appropriations over the past three years. Without their support, we could not have come this far.”
When the museum opened in a 4,000 square foot space provided by the City of Pell City, its mission was to preserve and promote the rich history of the city. Billing itself as the “small city museum that thinks big,” in less than three years it has attracted over 5,000 visitors from all over the state, country and points around the world.
It has created innovative, interactive exhibits highlighting the people, places and events that have shaped the city’s history, and the momentum shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
In October, the museum will reach back to the city’s real roots – Avondale Mills – with an impressive, interactive exhibition to celebrate and pay tribute to its first industry. Never-before-displayed artifacts, photographs and exhibits will tell the story of those early days along with a special film of oral histories premiering at the opening.
“As they say, we’ve come a long way since then,” Pappas said, “and Museum of Pell City is honored to be able to share that story along with countless others.”
