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Georgia College’s Department of Historic Museums hosted free visits at Andalusia Farm, Georgia’s Old Governor’s Mansion and the Sallie Elvis Davis House for Super Museum Sunday.
Super Museum Sunday is a holiday coordinated by the Georgia Historical Society. Over 100 different host sites open their doors to the public so that individuals have a chance to be introduced or reacquainted with historic sites, museums and cultural institutions in their own community and around the state. Georgia College’s Department of Historic Museums has hosted sites for Super Museum Sunday for eight years.
“It’s a chance to learn something more about the sites and about the community that you live in,” said Matthew Davis, director of historic museums.
Last year, The Baldwin Bulletin highlighted Georgia’s Old Governor’s Mansion and this year, a reporter visited the Sallie Ellis Davis House on 301 S. Clarke Street in Milledgeville. The Sallie Ellis Davis House was the home of Baldwin County educator Sallie Davis who worked her entire career as a teacher and principal at the Eddy High School. She had a significant impact on the lives of African American students in segregated Milledgeville.
“She was an influential teacher for the African American community,” said Cooper Moore, tour guide. “Everything she did was out of care for her students and their right to an education.”
The Eddy School was the first school for African Americans in Baldwin County, and was the only African American public school in Milledgeville until the 1940s. Dedicated to her students, Davis opened her home as a boarding house for students from rural areas who could not commute and would otherwise not have attended school. She was one of the largest supporters of the Eddy School and of local education.
“The school was a place for them to get educated and trained as they also taught hands-on skills,” said Moore. “But Sallie knew that attendance at the school was dropping so she rented out her two back rooms for students to board. She accepted firewood and canned foods as payment for rent since she understood her students’ families may not be able to afford a monetary payment.”
Before becoming a passionate educator, Davis had been known as the product of an Irish gentleman farmer and an African American mother. She lived with her mother until her mother passed and then moved in with her father. She would later enroll at Atlanta University and earned her normal school degree in 1899. Upon completion of her degree, Davis returned to Baldwin County as a teacher at Eddy High School and by 1910, Davis had moved into the residence that bears her name today.
“Upon getting her degree, she returned to the Eddy School to teach but later felt she was not educated enough and left again to get her masters at Atlanta University before returning for a second time,” said Moore. “Upon returning for the second time, she realized that she was not only the most qualified teacher at the school but in the county. The Eddy School was very proud to have someone like her teaching because of this.”
Davis would sadly pass away in 1920 and it would not be until late 2008 when former Georgia College & State University President, Dorothy Leland, and Chair of the Sallie Ellis Davis Foundation, Carolyn Thomas, announced that Georgia College would be working to restore Davis’ home.
According to the GCSU website on the Sallie Ellis Davis House, the restoration was completed in two stages: stabilization, renovation and outfitting the historic property. During the first stage, the house was cleaned and removed of debris. In addition, the renovation of the home began with work on the roofing, foundation, exterior carpentry and more. The second stage outfitted the home with historic furnishing, including a few pieces from Davis herself. Along with historic furnishing, a modern classroom and meeting areas were furnished and equipped with modern technology. Since April 2012, her home has been available for historic tours and has become a meeting place for the community of Baldwin County.