SYLACAUGA, Ala. – The Isabel Anderson Comer Museum and Arts Center is now home to a Smithsonian traveling exhibit celebrating Sylacauga’s industrial heritage and innovative future.
The Spark! Places of Innovation exhibit, which opened on Friday, June 20, highlights Sylacauga’s historical contributions through the marble industry and the Avondale Mills textile mill while also looking ahead to the East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub, known as EARTH.
A reception on Thursday, June 26 offered guests a chance to explore the exhibit and tour the EARTH site, located on the former Avondale Mills – Eva Jane grounds.
Spark! is presented by Innovate Alabama in partnership with the Alabama Humanities Alliance. The program travels to rural towns across the country, highlighting the unique innovation and resilience found in small communities like Sylacauga.
“Sylacauga is a place of innovation,” said Executive Director of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, Chuck Holmes. “From its roots with the mill to the marble and now EARTH, its an exciting time to be here. It’s our hope with this exhibit and through your own stories that you’ll learn something about Sylacauga that you never knew. That’s what brings communities together. That’s what makes us all lifelong learners.”
Founded in 1897 by Braxton Bragg Comer, Avondale Mills provided jobs to generations until its closure in 2006. The loss was felt deeply, but Sylacauga endured. Anchored by its identity as “The Marble City,” the community continued on with the success of the marble quarry and through other industries.
Now, the EARTH initiative, spearheaded by the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement, aims to breathe new life into the community.
With programs focused on sectors such as energy, transportation, IT, manufacturing, hospitality, early childhood education, regenerative agriculture, culinary arts, and healthcare, EARTH is preparing Sylacauga for the jobs of tomorrow.
The Spark! exhibit runs through Saturday, July 19. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Through this exhibit, visitors can witness how Sylacauga’s past fuels its future – where textile and marble once shaped the city, innovation now leads the way.
