Save the Harper House!

Hello Friends from Lyle! You may know that I formed a nonprofit called Forest Grove Preserve (FGP) in 2022. FGP received a grant from the GA Council of the Arts to restore the last standing 100-year-old sharecropper house at Forest Grove and to create within it a folk-art museum/gallery. The Harper House is named for the family who raised ten children in the 2-room house from 1954 till 1979. Descendants still live out the road. We are excited to exhibit art by self-taught artists, including children. Also, we want the site to provide a history lesson for school classes to see how people lived in the 1800s and a meeting place for families and clubs.

The work done on the house by Ohoopee Reclaimed, LLC, led by Jonathan Newsome, is excellent, and the house will stand for 100 more years. The restoration is much more expensive than first estimated. Grant funds, donations, and personal monies have been spent. Remaining work includes ceiling work in the central hall that will allow us to point out recently discovered pre-Civil War features in the east room, the re-creation of the front porch, and the construction of an ADA ramp. Labor is estimated at $7,500, with some materials to purchase. We need to make the house functional by our September 30th deadline with the Council of the Arts.

The Harper House will be a unique, charming destination for learning about art and history, and for bringing the community together! Any amount you can donate will be much appreciated. To those who have donated, thank you from the bottom of our FGP hearts!