03/06/2025
Long but important post…
please, please read
"One picture here, another there...an article or two and a collection of antiques that continued to grow". That is how The Benson MultiCultural History Museum came to be. The museum grew out of a school at Valley Bible Word of Faith Church when Rev. Benson began to place pictures on the wall to help the students with current events and to help them remember important stories and facts about our ancestors. Every inch of the museum was packed with memories. Soon people who came to visit began to appreciate the work that he had done and often told him "You've got a little museum growing here Rev." This encouraged him to continue to build room after room to house all the antiques, archives, pictures, and thousands of books he had acquired and the displays he had created. With a consistent emphasis on Lawnside history, he painstakingly covered and placed each picture and strategically located each antique to give the tour guide an opportunity to explain their origin and how it played a role in our history.
Throughout the museum were signs that said, "Did You Know" and "Blacks in History" to peak the visitors interest and enable Rev. or Mrs. Benson to share a little-known Black History fact. As he opened his doors to our past, Rev. Benson would extend the challenge to each visitor to "Remember whose shoulders you are standing on".
Sadly, soon after Rev. Benson’s passing, our building was considered unsafe, and we were no longer able to give tours. Unable to raise sufficient funds for the repair, The Benson Multicultural History Museum was able to be saved by moving the contents of the museum to storage in August of 2020. With the gracious support of The Lawnside Historical Society, donors and funds from the family, we’ve held on as long as we could.
Unfortunately, we are hours away from losing 1 unit and 3 days away from losing the final 2 units of this rich collection because we no longer have the financial resources to hold the items in storage. This is my urgent plea for help to save the contents of the museum so that we can continue to present and preserve our history and make a lasting impact on current and future generations.
We ask at least 100 people to send $35 (or more if you can) by either CashApp or Zelle
to help us end the threat of an auction that is scheduled this week for the items in 3 of our storage units. This is our history. We greatly appreciate your support.
CashApp - $TheBensonHistory
Zelle – [email protected]
Thank you so much,
Bethany Benson King
