Handsel Grady Morgan

In 1993, the museum was dedicated to Handsel Grady Morgan, Buford’s historian. Handsel has given tirelessly to the recording and preservation of Buford’s past and has been the ambassador for promoting our history. Historic Buford, A History of the City of Buford, Georgia through 1990 , is a comprehensive history of Buford and is a testimony to Handsel’s dedication to our community and a culmination of his life’s work. The book is available at the Museum store. A complete biography of Handsel Morgan is under construction and should be available on line in a few weeks.

Co-founders: A.R. “Randy” Wood and Sandra Sumner

The Museum of Main Street was established in 1986. The original location was first 9, then 13 East Main Street in downtown Buford. The museum has always been funded by A.R. “Randy” Wood, Sandra “Sandy” Sumner, and donations from within the community. In the 1990s, Randy realized that Buford was in the middle of a major transition on Main Street. Many of the early Main Street stores were closing. He began to ask businesses if he could have their signs and any other memorabilia. Many of the display cases came from the basements of closed stores.  Larry Bailey donated a lot of material including the trophy collection from the Bona Allen Shoemakers baseball team.  Randy also received a sizable donation of leather tools from David Mabry and Pat Garner.  After fifteen years of collecting historical items, Wood and Sumner moved to Robbinsville, NC.  Lynn A. Bowman then agreed to continue the tradition of the museum and became the custodian of the collection.