Frequently Asked Questions about the Funk Heritage Center

How did the Funk Heritage Center get started?

In the mid-1990s, John Bennett, Sr. and then-Reinhardt President Dr. Floyd A. Falany discussed the value of using the space where the Appalachian Settlement is now located as an historical interpretive center. Dr. James Funk, a longtime Reinhardt trustee and friend of the University, lent his support to the project. When the tool and Native art collections were given to the project, the decision was made to add a museum building to the project.

What does FHC stand for?

Funk Heritage Center.

Is the Funk Heritage Center part of Reinhardt University?

Yes. The Funk Heritage Center is an integral part of the University, and its staff members are University employees.

Who is the Funk Heritage Center named for?

The Funk Heritage Center is made up of the Appalachian Settlement and the Bennett History Museum. The F. James and Florrie G. Funk Heritage Center is named for Dr. F. James Funk, an orthopedic surgeon from Atlanta, and his wife. He served the Reinhardt as a benefactor, trustee, and FHC Advisory Board member. Mrs. Funk has deep family roots in Cherokee County.

The Bennett History Museum is named for John H., Sr. & Ethel C. Bennett. This family has been important in the development of Reinhardt University and of the nearby Salacoa Valley area. The Bennett’s son, John, Jr., serves on the Reinhardt University Board of Trustees and on the FHC Advisory Board

When did the Funk Center open?

The Funk Heritage Center opened on November 16, 1999, with a heritage festival and began serving students and visitors immediately afterward.

How big is the Bennett History Museum?

The Museum covers about 7,000 square feet of exhibit space.

How many people come here?

We have welcomed over 116,000 visitors since opening. 

Do you have any of the artifacts from the "Walmart" archeological site in (north) Canton?

Although placing the artifacts from the Walmart site in the Funk Heritage Center Collection was discussed early in the museum’s development, none have actually been offered to us or placed in our museum. Still, the Center houses more than 6,000 artifacts donated by area collectors, most of them illustrative of the area’s many Indian cultures.

Where did you get the log cabins that are located in the Appalachian Settlement?

The Beaver's Cabin is a typical settler's cabin, a one-room cabin with a loft, which was usually the first structure built on a homestead.  This cabin was found in the Macedonia area of Cherokee County and donated by Dr. F. James Funk.  The furnishings and antiques were donated by Louise Sellars and Gloria Sewell.

The Cline Cabin – This cabin was found in the Salacoa Valley and was donated by the Cline family in memory of Levi and Bessie Cook Cline.  It is used as a woodwright’s cabin, a combination residence and woodworking shop, where furniture, tools and other wooden items were made.

Was the petroglyph found in the area?

Rock carvings – “petroglyphs” – are found worldwide.  This petroglyph is granite; 11 feet long, 5 feet wide and 1 ½ feet thick.  It originated on the farm of Mrs. Pierce Cline in the Keithsburg community in Cherokee County a few miles from the “Hickory Log” archaeological site, now the Canton Super Walmart.  It was one of three sister stones, the other two were dynamited by overzealous treasure hunters who suspected the stones to be hollow and filled with gold.  Although few artifacts have been recovered from the original site, none could be linked to a particular era or culture.