Lowndes County Historical Museum

The Lowndes County Historical Society was founded in 1967, originally establishing a small museum in a historic home on Patterson Street in Valdosta, Georgia. The Society and Museum found its current home in downtown Valdosta in the former Carnegie Library at 305 West Central Avenue in 1977. The library had built in 1913 by local architect Lloyd Greer and the structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The society's founders were a group of local residents who shared the goal of preserving the history of Valdosta and Lowndes County. The objectives of the organization are to promote an interest in local history, collect and preserve documents, pictures, and artifacts pertinent to our cultural heritage, and to encourage historical research and study of our community. The museum has two floors of gallery space; the upstairs gallery contains many photographs, artifacts, and information on local events and offers displays rotated regularly. Featured downstairs is an interpretive exhibit: Lowndes County: Past, Present, and Future which takes you through the local community's development from a small frontier town to a thriving and diverse city. Industry, business, military, agriculture, transportation and local history are all covered in this detailed display. An extensive outdoor exhibit is also featured at the rear of the building. This space includes a caboose, belfry with historic school bell, cane grinding items, log transport cart, pioneer cabin, and original ecosystem and historical garden plants. In addition to the exhibits, the museum also houses an extensive archive including the Hugh Vallotton Genealogical Library. The museum's archives contain many documents, photographs, and artifacts pertaining to Lowndes County residents, businesses, societies and organizations that are invaluable to researchers.