Pell City Chamber of Commerce
Museum of Pell City honored with state historical award
Museum of Pell City honored with state historical award
PELL CITY – The Alabama Historical Association honored Museum of Pell City with the Historical Museum Award at its 77th annual meeting in Fairhope April 11. The Association presents annual awards recognizing excellence in historical work across the state, with categories for both large and small museums. Museum of Pell City won the 2026 award in the small museum category. Guntersville Museum and Cultural Center earned the award in the large museum category.
“The Alabama Historical Association established the historical museum award to recognize the exceptional achievements of large and small museums around the state,” said Dr. Mark Wilson, AHA secretary. “The selection committee was deeply impressed with the Museum of Pell City, which has developed impressive exhibits, committee volunteers, and a track record of success telling the stories of Pell City and St. Clair County. The Museum is a model for others and has a great future ahead.”
Since opening in March 2023, the Museum of Pell City has welcomed more than 5,000 visitors and continues to serve as an historical, cultural and educational resource for St. Clair County and the surrounding region. With free admission and the support of more than 30 active volunteers, the museum offers exhibits, oral history films and public programs that highlight the people and stories of Pell City.
“This recognition reflects the dedication of our volunteers, the generosity of our supporters, and the stories shared by our community,” said Erica Grieve, museum coordinator. “We are honored to represent Pell City and to continue growing as a place where history connects and inspires.”
“When we opened our museum three years ago, we had grand visions of what we wanted it to be – more than just a repository of history, we wanted to tell the story of our city in new and compelling ways,” said Museum President Carol Pappas.
“We often bill ourselves as the small museum that thinks big,” she added. “To us, receiving this award from the Alabama Historical Association validates that we’re on the right track – building a legacy that will live on for generations to come.”
The museum has kept at the center of its mission to educate, engage and inspire those who walked through its doors.
The 4,000 square foot suite provided by City of Pell City features thousands of photographs, videos, artifacts and interactive exhibits, celebrating notable figures, landmarks and events in the city’s history.
It employs interactive exhibits, like a fighter jet simulator in the military section and a 16-foot model train railway running through a miniature 1930s Pell City. “All of what we do is aimed at making history come alive,” Pappas said.
In keeping with that goal, the museum created and installed a major exhibit in 2025 commemorating the 50th anniversary of a devastating tornado that hit downtown Pell City. A wind tunnel lets children experience what 79-mile-per hour winds feels like. The tornado exhibit will remain until October when a new major exhibit is unveiled to pay tribute to Avondale Mills, the city’s first industry, and how a town grew up around it.
The museum’s oral history studio, made possible through the Pell City Rotary Community Endowment Foundation, features recollections of people, places and events that shaped the city’s history, and the collection of videos is presented for public access online and in documentaries it produces for special programs.
Its annual Breaking Barriers series for Black History Month in February and Salute to Veterans in November bring the community together to celebrate the accomplishments of the Pell City citizens and soldiers. Its outreach exhibits featuring vignettes of Pell City history are placed in public buildings and schools throughout the community to give a glimpse of what can be ‘discovered’ with a visit to the museum.
The museum has expanded its space with an art gallery around the atrium just outside the museum, providing a home for the art community to complement historical programming. Local artists and school art programs are showcased in regular art shows. Grieve and Pappas agree that the museum continually strives to keep the museum’s offerings versatile, fresh and compelling to bring visitors back again and again.
“None of this would be possible without the support of our community,” Pappas noted. “From the city and county’s support to our dozens of volunteers donating time and talent, to major contributors and Friends of the Museum members providing sustaining funds, we are honored by the support.”
The museum and all of its programs are free to the public. Located on the second floor of the Pell City Municipal Complex, the museum is open Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Erica Grieve Museum Coordinator
- April 17, 2026
- 256-453-1383
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