Pictured, from left, are: Dr. Adam Ware, director at Bandy Heritage Museum; Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood; and Brian Hilliard, project director at Bandy Heritage Center.
Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood met with Dr. Adam Ware and Brian Hilliard, representatives from the Bandy Heritage Center, to view three new cases of memorabilia coming to the Whitfield County Courthouse.
Founded by Jack Bandy in 2008, the Bandy Heritage Center for Northwest Georgia collects, preserves and interprets the material and cultural history of Northwest Georgia communities.
The Bandy Heritage Center documents and preserves life in four different categories: Photograph/Media Archives, Document Archives, Artifact Collections and an Oral History Collection.
Some pieces from the Heritage Center are currently housed in the Whitfield County Courthouse, and there are more to come.
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We are honored that the Whitfield County Courthouse has been chosen as the site to display these priceless artifacts for public viewing,” said Sheriff Chitwood.
One of the pieces, is a Type 99 Arisaka rifle with Bayonet from the WW2 era. The rifle was stamped on the receiver with a sixteen-petal chrysanthemum, the symbol of the Japanese emperor. The second, is a builder’s plate for the S.S. Dalton Victory, a liberty ship named for Dalton in WW2, and a model of the ship. Finally, a portrait of Private Theodore Coley, an Army soldier from Whitfield County. Private Coley joined the Army before Pearle Harbor and died on D-Day; the case will also hold his Purple Heart.
“For as much as we deal with old stuff, every day is something new,” said Dr. Adam Ware, director of the Bandy Heritage Center. “It was important when we started, that the Bandy Center reflected Mr. Bandy’s vision for community heritage.”
Dr. Ware is a third generation Dalton native, who moved back in 2018 after receiving his PhD from Florida State University.
Brian Hilliard, project director for the Bandy Heritage, is another Dalton native. “It’s great for me to make a personal connection to a lot of the stuff that comes through that door, and I love sharing that with other people,” said Mr. Hilliard. “I want to show you the Dalton I grew up in.”
Similar to the pieces coming to the Courthouse, the Bandy Heritage Center houses many other unique artifacts, photographs and documents that are relevant to Dalton and the local history.
The Bandy Heritage Center invites anyone to make an appointment to tour the facility. Contact the center at bandyheritagecenter@daltonstate.edu or 706-272-4452.