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THE BENNETT COUNTRY STORE FRONT

A replica of the Bennett Store located in Salacoa Valley is on display.
This exhibit
reconstructs, on a smaller scale, the front porch of a store and
touches on the "feel" of the country and why city folk often long to
return. It is an honor to have our museum named for John H. Bennett,
Sr., and Ethel C. Bennett. Children who visit the museum, have an
opportunity to see what a general store looked like and learn how
families shopped in years gone by.
Although closed, the store still stands in the Salacoa Valley,
about 5 miles north of Waleska. The store replica includes a photograph
of John, Sr. in one window and John Bennett IV, his great grandson, in
the other. John H. Bennett, Sr. was born on August 25,
1906, and was one of 11 children. His family relocated from Virginia to
the Salacoa Valley in Waleska, Georgia, a lush and fertile valley near
Reinhardt College.
Reinhardt College and Community Supporters
John attended Reinhardt Academy (which would
become Reinhardt College) and Mount Berry School until his father's
illness and eventual death. At that time, he returned to take over
the family farm. In 1933, he married Ethel Cook, and in 1940, they
opened the John H. Bennett, Sr. Grocery Store. Five generations of Bennetts have lived in the valley and they have always been well known
to the community. Nearly every member of the Bennett family,
except the youngest generation, attended Reinhardt College. John
H. Bennett, Sr. died in 1996, and Ethyl C. Bennett passed away in 1999.
They were married for 63 years.
For more information

7300 Reinhardt College Circle
Waleska, GA 30183-2981
(770) 720-5970 -
fax (770) 720-5965
Email:
heritagecenter@reinhardt.edu
Georgia's Official Frontier
and Southeastern Indian Interpretive Center
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