The goal of the Pioneer Historical Society is to conserve and to preserve the history of Telfair County and share this history with the public. To help celebrate the county’s bicentennial in 2007, a Telfair Museum of History was established It was housed in the historic freight railway depot in Helena. Due to structural damage to the depot, the museum was moved in 2022 to the Telfair Center for the Arts. The Museum’s collection had display sections dealing with our historic agriculture, naval stores, and timber occupations as well as the modes of transportation utilized to sustain those endeavors. Other displays introduced the county’s communities, recreational activities including the world record largemouth bass caught by George Perry in Telfair County’s Montgomery Lake , Native Americans that lived in the area, and the vanished schools, homes, and citizens of Telfair’s past. When visitors entered the museum, they were welcomed by a special display honoring the county’s veterans, including our Medal of Honor recipient.

 

The new location offers the opportunity to reorganize, improve our collection of artifacts, and increase community exposure to the history of our area. New displays have been created and designed to be easily changed to celebrate special county, state, or national events. Examples of special events would be Veterans Day or the Founding of Telfair County.

 

Films are available in the museum’s DVD area, including a DVD about Medal of Honor recipients, a commercial DVD about the quest for the big bass, and a National Geographic special about the latest attempts to break the largemouth bass record. The Ocmulgee River had a major role in the development of early Telfair County river communities. Visitors may view a DVD of the Last R.A.F.T., depicting the recreation of log rafting on the Ocmulgee River. DVDs containing the locations of Telfair and Wheeler Counties’ grave yards, cemeteries, and family plots as well as the names of the citizens buried there may be purchased at the museum