Bonner House Interior Interpretive Physical Elements

Left Room - Jen

- Life in the Bonner House = African Americans living under slavery

- Reconstruction/Emancipation= African Americans living in Reconstruction
- This will be a paneled room which tells the history of early Bonner House. This room can
also include listening stations for those who need (auditory experience) and shadow
boxes of any surviving items of the Bonner home during this period.
- The themes will be
- Enslaved peoples
- Around twenty enslaved individuals lived and worked on the property that
was owned by a white man Thomas Bonner and his family, after Bonner
acquired the land in the 1840s. According to a formerly enslaved man
named Abraham Bonner, the Greek revival house where the white Bonner
family lived was called “The Big House,” but those enslaved on this
 property would have remembered a separate building for a kitchen, a
smokehouse, a few barns, a cotton press, and a distillery. Many of the
enslaved people would have slept in slave quarters, perhaps with their
families, along the ridge of the hill and buried their dead in a nearby burial
ground that also stood along the ridge (Bonner; Young). There are few
extant records about the daily lives of these individuals to answer
questions that we might have about them: What was their day like? What
did they talk about with their friends and family? What were their thoughts
about the white Bonners? What did they dream about or hope for?
- What is known is that the bonds of family were complicated for enslaved
people. One of the most effective means of controlling enslaved workers
was through the psychological pressure of fear that enslaved family
members might be sold away from each other (Young). For enslaved
individuals, including those enslaved by Thomas Bonner and his family,
this undoubtedly resulted in extreme anxiety. In addition, many of these
enslaved people were identified with the last name “Bonner” by
themselves and by census records. It is unclear if these relations between
the white Bonners and the African American Bonners is just in name or if
there is a genetic familial relation (Scott). The nature of these sexual
encounters is not known, but evidence does suggest that it was not
uncommon for slaveholders to coerce enslaved women into sexual
relations under threat or through violence (Young).
- Sample text: Around twenty enslaved individuals lived and
worked on the property that was owned by a white man named
Thomas Bonner and his family after acquiring the land in the
1840s. Abraham Bonner, a formerly enslaved man at the Bonner
House, recounted the image of the Greek revival home and called
it “The Big House.” Many of the enslaved people would have slept
in slave quarters, perhaps with their families, along the ridge of the
hill where the current location of the Front Campus of the
University is currently located. They also buried their dead in a
nearby burial ground that also stood along the ridge. What is
known is that the bonds of family were complicated for enslaved
people. One of the most effective means of controlling enslaved
workers was through the psychological pressure of fear that
enslaved family members might be sold away from one another.
There are few extant records about the daily lives of these
individuals to answer questions that we might have about them:
What was their day like? What did they talk about with their
friends and family? What were their thoughts about the white
Bonners? What did they dream about or hope for?
- Possible artifact: Perhaps photos of Abraham Bonner; maybe an
early census if we can gather? Documentation of the slave
schedule
 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Au_2IEJeIC4H_8frApqWma1H9
8x-7r3g/view)
- Free peoples
- Georgia had the second largest population of enslaved African Americans
in the South by 1860 (Cobb). Georgia’s laws became more strict over time
in its limitations on slaveholders to free African Americans whom they
had enslaved (Young). As a result of technological advancements and
enslaved labor, Georgia became a leading producer of cotton for textiles,
so textile mills became a major source of the state’s manufacturing. The
first mills in Carrollton were the Mandeville Mills, established in 1890.
The growth of industrialism in and around Carrollton provided economic
opportunities for many folks in the area, including some free African
Americans, like the renowned bridge-builder of northwest Georgia Horace
King (1807-1885) (Lupold). However, free black people were still under
the control of Georgia’s judicial system that provided white Georgians
with rights that were denied to black Georgians, enslaved or free (Young).
- Sample text: Georgia had the second largest population of
enslaved African Americans in the South by 1860. The growth of
industrialism in and around Carrollton provided economic
opportunities for many folks in the area, including some free
African Americans, like the renowned bridge-builder of northwest
Georgia Horace King (1807-1885). However, free black people
were still under the control of Georgia’s judicial system that
provided white Georgians with rights that were denied to black
Georgians, enslaved or free.
- Possible artifacts: Textile work, more photographs, documentation
of free slaves
- Civil War
- During the American Civil War, the State of Georgia seceded from the
Union on May 23rd, 1861, joining eleven other states in the Confederate
States of America (CSA). During and after the Civil War, approximately
460,000 black individuals became free in Georgia (Cobb). When the Civil
War started in 1861, Carroll County sent more men into the Confederate
Army than any other county in Georgia. Union general William T.
Sherman’s military campaign that marched from Chattanooga, TN to
Atlanta, GA went through Carroll County and the Bonner property
(Cobb). According to Abraham Bonner, the Union soldiers did not burn
anything nor harm anyone on the plantation. However, a year or so later,
Brigadier-General Croxton’s cavalry raided the Bonner house under his
orders in April of 1865. After the war ended in 1865, Thomas Bonner sold
the property to Harris Russell and moved to Alabama. Those enslaved on
the Bonner plantation likely would have experienced unpredictability, fear,
and perhaps hope during the Civil War. Those who survived to 1865
would have faced drastic changes in their lives and would have seen major
shifts occurring around them, such as Thomas Bonner moving to Alabama
and laws changing quickly in the U.S. and in Georgia. What might have
 been the most impactful change for these folks would have been that they
were officially freed under the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
which opened up a world of possibility and uncertainty to these
individuals.
- Sample text: When the Civil War started in 1861, Carroll County
sent more men into the Confederate Army than any other county in
Georgia. Union General William T. Sherman’s military campaign
that marched from Chattanooga, TN to Atlanta, GA went through
Carroll County and the Bonner property. According to Abraham
Bonner, the Union soldiers did not burn anything nor harm anyone
on the plantation. However, a year or so later, Brigadier-General
Croxton’s cavalry raided the Bonner house under his orders in
April of 1865.
- During and after the Civil War, approximately 460,000 black
individuals became free in Georgia. After the war ended in 1865,
Thomas Bonner sold the property to Harris Russell and moved to
Alabama. Those enslaved on the Bonner plantation likely would
have experienced unpredictability, fear, and perhaps hope during
the Civil War. Those who survived to 1865 would have faced
drastic changes in their lives and would have seen major shifts
occurring around them. What might have been the most impactful
change for these individuals would have been their official
freedom under the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
which opened up a world of possibility and uncertainty.
- Possible artifacts: any documentation and dates of
Brigadier-General Croxton’s cavalry raiding Bonner
House(?), documentation on the sale of Bonner house, any
images/documentation we may be able to access of the
home during this time period of Civil War South.
- Reconstruction
- Reconstruction was the era following the U.S. Civil War in which
secession and the Confederacy ended, and the institution of slavery
was abolished. There were three key ideas/goals floating amongst
U.S. citizens at the time regarding what to focus on in this era. The
first was learning to cope with the death and devastation of the
war; the second (a white supremacist notion) was creating legal
racial segregation and preserving white influence and supremacy in
the South; and the final was to acquire full freedom, citizenship,
and equality for the newly freed African Americans. These ideals,
and those who supported them, often came into conflict with each
other.
- In the beginning, free African Americans made strides politically
and socially. After the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
Amendments to the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1866,
 African Americans enjoyed a period when they were allowed to
vote, actively participate in the political process, acquire the land
of former owners, seek their own employment, and use public
accommodations. However, opponents of this progress
(predominantly Southern whites) began to find means for eroding
the gains for which they felt their families had shed blood over in
the war. With the introduction of black codes and sharecropping,
African Americans were continually denied certain rights, and
despite its possibilities, Reconstruction ended with continued
segregation and marginalization towards African Americans
through legislation, social influence, and violence. This was reality
that those at the Bonner House would have experienced.
- Work Opportunities
- Most southern black Americans, though free, lived in
desperate rural poverty. Having been denied education and
wages under slavery, ex-slaves were often forced by the
necessity of their economic circumstances to rent land from
former white slave owners. These sharecroppers paid rent
on the land by giving a portion of their crop to the
landowner. Others continued work as domestic/property
servants to their previous owners, earning very little in the
process.
- Social Opportunities
- Family, church, and school became centers of black life
after slavery.
- Bonner enslaved visited the churches at the
Carrollton Square even before Reconstruction
(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Au_2IEJeIC4H_8f
rApqWma1H98x-7r3g/view)
- However, white supremacists in the KKK (Ku Klux Klan)
terrorized African American leaders and citizens in the
South.
- Sample text, panel 1: There were three key ideas to
strive for at the time of Reconstruction as the
Confederacy ended and the institution of slavery
was abolished. The first was learning to cope with
the death and devastation of the war; the second (a
white supremacist notion) was creating legal racial
segregation and preserving white influence and
supremacy in the South; and the final was to acquire
 full freedom, citizenship, and equality for the newly
freed African Americans. These ideals, and those
who supported them, often came into conflict with
each other.
- Free African Americans gained political and social
strides as the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
Amendments to the Constitution and the Civil
Rights Act of 1866 came to action. However, with
the introduction of black codes and sharecropping,
African Americans were continually denied certain
rights, and despite its possibilities, Reconstruction
ended with continued segregation and
marginalization towards African Americans through
legislation, social influence, and violence. This was
reality that those at the Bonner House would have
experienced.
- Possible artifacts: documentation of free slaves in
the South
- Sample text, panel 2 (work and social): Work
opportunities for ex-slaves were often scarce. Most
African Americans, though freed, lived in desperate
rural poverty and were often forced to rent land
from former white slave owners due to their
economic circumstances. Sharecroppers often paid
their rent by providing a portion of their crops to
their landowners. Others worked in domestic roles
to their previous owners or similar families, often
earning little income in the process.
- Possible artifact: more photographs of
Abraham Bonner and family with
permission, perhaps photo of exterior of
home.
- Family, church, and school became centers for
black life after slavery. The Bonner enslaved were
known to visit the churches within Carrollton
Square, even before the start of the Reconstruction
era.
- Possible artifact: images of Carrollton
Square churches, with permission - an
example may be of Moore’s Chapel UMC,
 where members of Moore’s Chapel have
been preaching since 1873. Also, new
Canaan Baptist Church in Temple, organized
in the summer of June 1881.

Right Room - Katie

- Bonner House/Communities Today
- Will include oral histories of descendant communities. There’s will be listening stations
in the corner so as not to disturb anyone else who might be reading the panels
- The themes will be:
- Black communities/making today
- Carrollton has a dynamic African American community living in and
around the area today. Many of these individuals are descendants of the
people who lived and worked while enslaved on the Bonner farm. They
have connected with each other in a variety of ways and maintain a strong
relationship as a community and as an extended family. In 2019, the
members of the family met for a reunion on UWG’s campus to reflect on
their family’s history on the Bonner property.
- University community’s involvement
- The University of West Georgia and its predecessors used the Bonner
House for a variety of purposes, including a dormitory, and residence, and
a Welcome Center. Some of these uses reflect the distance from which the
university attempted to view its history in the larger story of Southern
black enslavement. As of the summer of 2020, the Bonner House was
transferred to the supervision of the Center for Public History, in order to
move towards interpreting the history of the Bonner House and its
surrounding area in a more honest, inclusive, and challenging way.
- The Center for Public History’s University History Project has worked on
documenting, understanding, and interpreting the lives of enslaved and free
African Americans, who lived on and worked the lands of the Thomas Bonner
plantation, which became the University of West Georgia campus. The University
History Projects Along the Ridge Sub-Project conducts the majority of this work.
Additionally, Along the Ridge seeks out and collects stories from descendents of
any African American families who lived and worked on this property after the
Civil War. Passed down through generations, these narratives and family histories
are the heart of Along the Ridge.
- Sample Text: The descendants of the people who lived and worked on the Bonner Farm
while enslaved maintain a strong community today. Despite periods of violence and
suppression, Carrollton’s African American community remains a dynamic force in the
history of the city.
 In 2019 the descendants held a reunion on UWG’s campus to reflect on their family’s
history on the Bonner property. The descendants also brought awareness to their
ancestors’ history on the land that became the university and has partnered with UWG to
examine and present this history in a truthful manner.
Uncovering the history of the descendants and their family is an ongoing process. It is up
to all of us to work together to never forget that the success of Carrollton and everything
that followed was based on the labor of the enslaved men and women who built and
supported the city.
- Possible artifacts to include: documents showing the University and descendants working
together, documentation showing the transfer of the Bonner House to the Department of
Public History, possible (if given permission) images of the 2019 reunion.

Hallway - Katie
- Timeline
- The timeline will stretch throughout the hallway as a long panel. It will include
the following dates, as they are important to the history of the site and its varied
roles through the years: 1825 (forced Creek removal/ Treaty of Indian Springs),
June 91825/6 (Carroll County established), 1830 (gold was discovered at Pine
Mountain), 1840 (Abraham Bonner’s birth), 1845 (Bonner takes
ownership/moves into Bonner House), 1865 (End of the Civil War, property sold
to Harris Russell), 1870 (Harris Russell sells property to George W. Camp), 1876
(George W. Camp sells the house to Hiram W. Camp), 1886 (Hiram sells Buford
A. Sharp), 1906 (A&M School Established, SHarp sells land to School, Board of
Regents Purchases property), 1908 (A&M School opened), c. 1915 (Bonner house
moved to current location), 1918 (enslaved cemetery found), 1933 (West Georgia
College established), 1996 (State University of West Georgia established), 2005
(school Re-named University of West Georgia, Bonner house turned into
welcome center), 2020 (Bonner House gifted to the public history department)
- Along with some interpretive text on important dates (sale of property, movement
of the house, discovery of enslaved cemetery, ect) there will be relevant pictures
(of the house, moving the house, early university, former enslaved and enslaved
descendants, house as Welcome Center, ect) and pictures of any relevant artifacts.
- Example of sample text: 1918 - Discovery of the Enslaved cemetery
In 1918, as reported in the April 25, 1939 edition of the West Georgian paper, a
group of students digging a ditch between the “Old Girl’s Dormitory” and “The
Administration Building,” dug into a grave. In response to this discovery, the
“boys”' removed the remains from the grave to display them in the Administration
Building.
- Possibly artifact: images (or possibly extant copy) of the article in question.
Back Room - Katie/Jen
- Decompression space: will be where students/guests can take a moment to react to what
they have learned. This will be a quest space for reflection. There will be a letter writing
station for people to write to who ever they want, including to the university to express
how they feel about this history
- This space can also be used to simply write or draw out feelings. People will be
encouraged to leave it behind for the Public History department to view, to take it
with them, or to throw it out, whatever they wish to do
- Comfortable chairs and perhaps a space with breathing exercises
- Will include the specific theme of Why this history is important
- A panel addressing this topic
- Sample Text: The African American community in the region surrounding
Carrollton has a complex and painful history that is also full of hope. Their
experience after the Civil War is a microcosm for the failure of reconstruction
throughout the country.
It is within this period that the A&M school UWG is descended from was born
and its establishment in Carrollton was one of the major events that shaped the
African American community at the turn of the twentieth century.
The strength of this community has forced a reckoning with UWG’s role in
legitimizing Jim Crow segregation and the solidifying of racial discrimination that
has continuedin to the present. Just as important is the recognition of the
resilience and joy central to the culture that the African American community has
created in northwest Georgia.

Kitchen
- Drinks (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, water) and some comfort food like sugar cookies will
be offered here