Tales of Tallassee

from FYI 2022-2023

Chamber Directory

Stepping into the Tallassee Falls Museum transports visitors back in time to a number of different periods of historical significance. With themed vignettes recently remodeled, the museum offers a more streamlined layout from its previous décor, said executive director Bob Taunton.

Located at 201 Barnett Blvd. in Tallassee, right before the Benjamin Fitzpatrick Bridge, the historic time capsule welcomes visitors Thursdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Volunteers from the Talisi Historical Preservation Society staff the museum. These are the same volunteers that upfit the new look over the course of a year, starting in August 2021.

“We had a warehouse look before,” Taunton said. “We just used the room to house material we had, and it wasn’t very well displayed. Last year, we began building vignettes, so we could have walls to hang paintings and artifacts and put up shelves for displays.”

Everything is now color-coded with an overall cohesiveness to the design around a core principal: the history of Tallassee, including significant landmarks, periods of time, individuals and schools.

“We did one section at a time,” Taunton said.

These new vignettes include the following: n A wing has been dedicated to the works of published writer and acclaimed painter and taxidermist, Dovard Taunton, who tragically took his own life about 15 years ago. n Pioneer Life artifacts, including clothing, tools and paintings from the mid 1800s; n Tallassee Confederate Armory and Tallassee’s role during the Civil War and the manufacturing of carbines; n World wars I and II; n Black Heritage, highlighting the Moten School; n Tallassee City Schools, including the first football team, first band and yearbooks; n The area’s Native American history, especially the the Muskogee-Creek Indians and Tuckabatchee, the capital of the Creek nation; n Tallassee Falls Manufacturing Company (1844 to 1900) and Tallassee Mount Vernon Mills (1900 to 2005) with a focus on the cotton mills that provided material for soldiers’ uniforms. Taunton explained the mills won a state award at that time for their contribution to the war. n The Tallassee River system and dams; n Farm tools, old medicine equipment and antiques through the years;

The reorganization also included a records and archive room, where payroll records from the mills, photographs, blueprints, surveys and anything needing to be preserved and organized by paper could be more accessible.

In addition, there is a conference area, where the historical society meets and holds monthly presentations.

The Tallassee Falls Museum opened in its current location in 2013 with Bill Goss as its first curator. Its name is derived from the Tallassee Falls along the Tallassee River where Thurlow Dam is today.

The museum has had many homes but was mainly a jumble of artifacts and donations collected over the years from locals. Resident Wally Troupe allowed the historical society to host its materials in the Barnett Boulevard location at no cost until the group was able to purchase the building outright.

Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. The museum is a nonprofit, publicly supported project and operates on state grants, local fundraisers and donations.