DAR salutes Grady County museum and its founder

Dec. 2—OCHLOCKNEE, Ga. — John Benning Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in cooperation with the Georgia State Society, NSDAR, presented the NSDAR Historic Preservation Recognition Award to Pope's Museum Preservation, Inc., the non-profit that restores and maintains Pope's Museum at a recent awards ceremony at the museum located in Grady County, between Cairo and Meigs.

The museum was nominated for this recognition by the Georgia State Society, NSDAR, Betty Brown Harrah, State Regent, who presented the award.

The Historic Preservation Recognition Award recognizes and honors individuals or groups that have done recent remarkable volunteer work at the community level, according to a press release from the John Benning Chapter, which is based in Moultrie.

"This was an outstanding application for an amazing project," said Barbara H. Chesney, national vice chair for the DAR Historic Preservation Recognition Award. "The museum is significant for the local community, the state of Georgia, and the nation!"

The State Society recognizes that over the past several years, the museum's Board of Directors has provided continued care of, and commitment to, the high-quality preservation and careful rehabilitation of this architecturally and historically significant property, the press release said.

The John Benning Chapter presented the Pope's Museum board with a check for $1,000 to assist with continued restoration and preservation of the museum. Additionally, the chapter honored Michelle Dean, executive director of Pope's Museum, with the Excellence in Historic Preservation Award for her work as the visionary of the museum's restoration.

The John Benning Chapter, NSDAR, also recognized the museum's founder, artist Laura Pope Forester (1873-1953), with inclusion in the NSDAR register of Women in American History.

"We are beyond ecstatic about both of these honors," said Dean. "To have others recognize the work of Mrs. Forester and the work of our board makes all of our efforts worthwhile."

In the early 20th Century, using common concrete and sand from the local creek and other locally sourced materials, Forester created more than 200 sculptures and dozens of murals, the DAR press release said. Subjects included the Queen Mother (Queen Elizabeth's mother), a World War I Red Cross nurse, Gold Star mothers and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, among other notables of the time. Honoring veterans from World Wars I and II was a common theme for her work. Her art portrayed a message that was rarely heard in the early 20th Century — that women provided a vital role in society.

After nearly 50 years of being closed and used as rental property, the museum reopened in 2018 following months of extensive research and hard work,

The museum was named to the National Register of Historic Places in early 2022 and was recognized by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in the spring of 2022, receiving one of only two awards given for Excellence in Restoration.