About the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Museum
The Louis G. Gregory Baha’i Museum, was dedicated in Charleston on February 8, 2003. This was the
culmination of the dream of members of the Baha’i Faith in South Carolina and around the world to honor Gregory as one of the most distinguished figures in
their religion’s 158-year history and a pre-eminent champion of the faith’s central principle of the unity of the human race.
It is the first museum in Charleston established solely to celebrate the life of an individual.
It is particularly significant that in this city, which was the main port of entry to America for enslaved Africans and which witnessed
the opening shots of the Civil War, the first person so honored is a descendant of enslaved Africans who dedicated his life to establishing harmony among the
races.
The museum is located at 2 Desportes Court in the heart of the Charleston peninsula, in an historic neighborhood of houses built by
freedmen. It is the small, two-story frame house to which Gregory's family moved sometime after he was eleven years old, when his widowed mother married George
Gregory, the beloved stepfather whose name he took.
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The House During Renovation
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The Charleston Baha’is acquired the deteriorated house through a real estate auction in 1989 when a Baha’i, Mr. Henry
Wigfall, who was
present recognized the address on the list and anxiously bid on the property. Baha’is around the state and world quickly responded to the appeal from the
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Charleston for help to purchase and restore the site (only Baha’is can contribute to Baha’i funds). Their intention
was to restore the house to a state of dignity and prepare it to receive visitors from around the world.
The house was lovingly refurbished and, with the help of Avery Research Center personnel, exhibits of Gregory’s personal effects,
photos and correspondence have been prepared. Noted blacksmith Phillip Simmons is designing the museum’s sign.
Click here to begin the virtual tour.
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