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