This building was built in 1911 on to an already standing wall with the Bull Durham add on it. We have uncovered part of the Bull Durham add and hope to do more in the future. In this first room we have the original 1921 LaFrance Fire Truck purchased by the City of Cherryville. On the wall behind the truck you see a 9 x 10 foot wall hanging of this building with the fire truck and the firemen at that time.

In the back of this room we have the Cherryville sports Hall of Fame exhibit honoring all those who have contributed special efforts to sports of this town. On the right side wall at the back you see the exhibit honoring all the mills of Cherryville from the early 1800s until the end of the mills of this town. You will see that they provided jobs, homes, utilities, womens and mens clubs, ball teams, bands, music lessons, summer camp and a clubhouse. One man whose family worked in the mill found that he had polio at an early age. He needed to be in water for a period of time each day. His parents could not afford to do anything. The Howell Mill brought people in and built his own special handicapped bathroom and did not charge anything--and this was a long time ago.

Our second room houses showcases around the walls honoring all the businesses. We have the Savings & Loan exhibit, The Cherryville Eagle newspaper, The Old Bank, Photography from the 1800s and a wedding exhibit. At the end of the room we have Julia Hall's piano. Julia taught piano lessons here for many years. On the other side of the room is the old pump organ that was used in one of the churches. The case on the wall at the back houses exhibits for all the churches.

Next you go into the hallway. On the right you will see the hat exhibit from Madge Lytton who was a millner here in the mid 1800s. We also have a photo of President Harry Truman with the Beam Famiy and the cherry tree they donated to the Truman library. In front of this photo you will see 2 mannequins with the dresses that Mrs. Beam and her daughter wore to the Truman library where they are pictured with Harry Truman.

As you go up the stirs to the 2nd floor you will see photos on the stairwall. These people are among our leaders of this town who have made great contributions. This wall is a work in progress that will not be finished until it is full. At the top of the stairs we turn right and go into the courtroom.

Immediately on the right is the WWII exhibit with uniforms, photos and artifacts from Cherryville. We have a photo of Christine Cadwallader who is sitting on a tank. She is also one of our museum volunteers and she was a recruiter during WWII. The next case is WWI. It is entitled "The Girl I left behind". We have a 1917 calendar from the Cherrryville First National Bank with this famous photo on it. We have Vida Dellingers sewing machine with her husband's WWI uniform on it. During these years, women were truly left behind.

The next case is the Civil War case with photos of Gaston County and Cherryville Civil war soldiers on it. We also have civil war artifacts in this case. The next exhibit is the walk in model of the Cherryville First Public School, "The Academy". This school was used until it burned in 1915. The school houses the old school table and chairs used by long-time teacher Ruth D. Sherrill. She taught school here for 45 years. The walls are showcases themselves with rhythm band instruments, our first school annual of 1938' The Pioneer, old books, photos of one room schools, report cards, etc. The other main wall holds school photographs and old diplomas going back to 1911. We have the lunch box from teacher Fannie Farris plus many old school books.

At the back of this room you will see the museum library where we house old Cherryville books, genealogy and museum records for research. As you come up the wall on the other side you see the old beauty/barber exhibit with old equipment dating back to the early 1900s and photos of barbers and beauticians of this area. Next you will see the Dental/optical exhibit. Dr. Charles Metcalf donated much of his equipment, chair, etc. to this exhibit.

The next exhibit is the medical/pharmacy exhibit. Dr. Marshall Agner helped with this exhibit by donating his equipment plus we have some very old equipment from Dr. Self. The next exhibit is the Kendrick Brick and Tile exhibit done by the Kendrick family. The next exhibit is the Marvin Beam Ford exhibit done by his daughter who is on our board. Next you see lighted glass photos from the boy scout Bud Schiele Camp and a complete exhibit with uniforms, badges, cooking equipment, etc. We also have as much for the girl scout/brownie scout exhibit. The front of the room is dedicated to the old courtroom with the judges table, photos of judges and lawyers from this town. We also have old court records available for reading.

The lower level of the museum houses the farm equipment/toy room. The main exhibit is Upchurch Garden Center and Lloyd Stroup home made wooden toys. The next room is the old kitchen that houses the old stove, cooking equipment, spinning wheel and the old loom. The main exhibit is the Roy & Troy Grocery exhibit who delivered groceries to homes here. As we go on to the next room you will see the New Year Shooters exhibit. This is an old German tradition that was brought to Cherryville by early German pioneers. This tradition has continued to modern days. The last room is the old jail. The only people housed here were people who "appeared drunk", engaged in an affray or who were just disturbing the peace. There were no tests to see that you were drunk. If you look drunk, you go to jail.

Thank you for coming to our local museum. We are very proud for it and would like for you to come back.

Building built in 1911 as fire dept., city hall, police dept., jail, courtroom. Used until 1950s when new city hall was build and new fire dept was built. After that time it was used by several business people as shops of different types. The City decided to sell the building. They put it up for auction and asked Mr. Carlyle Beam for an "opening bid". Since no one else made a bid, Mr. Beam told his wife, "Mama, we just bought a building. Do you have any money with you?" After their death, the famiy donated the building to the City of Cherryville for a museum and it has grown since that time.