Gilmer County’s only historical museum will open for its 2024 season this week.
The Tabor House Museum, located at 138 Spring Street, is set to open to the public Thursday, March 21. It will be open from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. each Thursday, Friday and up to the first three Saturdays of each month until mid-December.
Gilmer Historical Society member Doug Piette said the museum, which is manned by historical society members and other volunteers, was able to be open for three Saturdays monthly in 2023. This year, that will depend on the number of volunteers willing to act as tour guides.
“We are down a few people, and we’re hoping to have more volunteers so we can be open more days. We certainly welcome more people to volunteer year-round,” Piette said.
The museum inside downtown Ellijay’s oldest standing home is closed during the winter months, which allows staff to rearrange or add to existing exhibits while also displaying new items. Piette said a new display of Civil War-era artillery shells and digital picture frames displaying a number of old photographs are among what’s new for the 2024 season. The museum had good response to past displays of Civil War ammunition, which is on loan from a collector.
Piette said the museum is looking for more pictures to include in the digital frame displays.
“We’re looking for photos of historic downtown Ellijay and Gilmer County, early industries in Gilmer County, Cherokee habitation of Gilmer County, Civil War pictures involving Gilmer County residents and pictures of veterans from Gilmer County,” he added.
Anyone with these types of photos who’d like them to be shown at the museum can email digital copies to gilmerhistorymuseum@gmail.com for review. It’s not necessary to loan the original photo.
“If they send pictures, they should identify when it was taken and describe what it is a picture of,” Piette said.
The museum also welcomes loaned items from the general public for possible displays.
“We have people every year who bring things here to either donate or loan to the museum. We have forms on hand for both of those things,” Piette said.
Admission to the Tabor House Museum is free, but donations to help keep it going are accepted. Group tours can be arranged by emailing taborhouse138@gmail.com or calling 706-276-1861.