Autrey Mill Heritage Collections

Autrey Mill is fortunate to own several collections of historic items.

• Farm Museum Collection – farming implements used by local farmers
• Tenant House Collection – household items
• Green Store Collection – a mixture of items sold in the store and personal Green family items
• Forsten Collection – Southeastern Indian projectile points

Farm Museum

The Farm Museum at Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center is now open Tuesday-Saturday 10-4 for self-touring. The museum focuses on farming in the Johns Creek area from the mid-nineteenth through the twentieth century. The museum showcases large pieces such as a plow, doctors buggy, corn sheller, and seeder as well as smaller items such as a cowbell and horseshoes.

Where have these items come from?
Over the year’s area residents have generously given the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve Association many items that were used in this area during the late 1800s to the mid-1900s. These items now furnish the Tenant Farmhouse, are housed in the Farm Museum and in its outdoor display area and decorate the Summerour House.

The Green Country Store was full to the brim with items sold in the store, all of its ledgers and miscellaneous stuff stored there during its years of operation. Some of these items are displayed in the Green Store, but much is still in storage awaiting attention.

Did you know the history of the Coca-Cola bottle?

According to Coke’s website the contour bottle, known as the “perfect liquid wrapper,”  was created to distinguish the Coca-Cola brand from its competitors.   For more than 115 years the soda that once started as a fountain beverage became the world famous Coke brand.  Selling for a mere five cents a bottle in its humble beginnings.  In 1894 Joseph Biedenharn dispensed the cola from a fountain but soon realized the endless possibilities of bottling with a conventional glass bottle.  In 1916 the Coca-Cola company introduced the contour bottle that has since synonymous with their brand.  Please come by and check out Autrey Mill’s extensive collection of soda bottles located in our historic general store.

 

The Forsten Exhibit of Southeastern Indian Artifacts opened in 2011 during our Native American Day event. The exhibit contains a selection of artifacts donated by the Forsten family. The collection contains 288 pieces of Southeastern American Indian projectile points, gorgets, atlatl weights and other artifacts. Part of the large collection is on permanent display, with other pieces being used for educational programming and future research.

What needs to be done?
The collections need to be examined, cataloged, and displayed appropriately. The more important items may need to be stabilized then specially stored or enclosed to prevent further deterioration. It’s a long process, but necessary to ensure the history of the Johns Creek area can be exhibited for today’s visitors and is preserved for future generations.