How did the Funk Heritage Center get started?

In the mid-1990s, a local businessman and Reinhardt alumnus John Bennett, Sr. '25 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 effort.

What does FHC stand for?

Funk Heritage Center.

Is the Funk Heritage Center part of Reinhardt University?

Yes. The Funk Heritage Center is located on the University campus, and its staff members are University employees.

Who is the Funk Heritage Center named for?

Dr. F. James Funk, an orthopedic surgeon from Atlanta, and his wife, Florrie G. Funk, gave the naming gift for the F. James and Florrie G. Funk Heritage Center. A longtime trustee of Reinhardt, he served Reinhardt as a benefactor and later a FHC Advisory Board member. Mrs. Funk has deep family roots in Cherokee County. The Funk Heritage Center facilities include the Appalachian Settlement and the Bennett History Museum.

The Bennett History Museum is named for John H., Sr. & Ethel C. Bennett. This Bennett family is from the nearby Salacoa Valley area and has been important in the history and development over Reinhardt since the early 1900s. The Bennett’s son, John, Jr., serves on the Reinhardt University Board of Trustees and on the FHC Advisory Board.  Numerous members of the Bennett family have attended Reinhardt.

When did the Funk Center open?

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

How big is the Bennett History Museum?

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

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

Placing the artifacts from the 1995 Walmart excavation site in the Funk Heritage Center Collection was discussed early in the museum’s development. In 2011, a plan has been developed to raise funds to exhibit some of these artifacts, now known as the "Hickory Log Artifacts." Finally, following five years of raising $153,000 in funds, designing and installing exhibits, two exhibits were opened on September 29, 2016. History Beneath Our Feet and Life Along the Etowah both include artifacts from the Hickory Log collection. The Funk Heritage Center also displays other artifacts donated by area collectors, most of them illustrative of the area’s many Indian cultures, including Cherokee and Creek.

Where did the log cabins in the Appalachian Settlement come from?

The Beaver's Cabin - A typical settler's cabin, a one-room cabin with a loft, this type structure was usually the first one 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 originally located?

Rock carvings – “petroglyphs” – are found worldwide.  The petroglyph located in the Hall of Ancients is made of granite; it measures 11 feet long, 5 feet wide and 1½ feet thick.  It was found 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 a few artifacts were also recovered from the original site of the petroglyph, none could be linked to a particular era or culture.