Eclectic woman turns historic building into city museum

ECLECTIC, Ala. (WSFA) - If you want to get something done, Eclectic resident Betty Butler Coker is the person to know.

Coker gets things done. In 2010, she turned the old City Hall into the Eclectic Library. And she was just getting started.

“This building, in doing research, was an old bus manufacturing facility back in the ‘20s,” said Coker. “It was used for the shop, and when the shop moved to another location, the mayor said, ‘Betty, you can have this building.’”

She already had a perfect idea for the building: the brand-new Eclectic Museum.

“We need to preserve the history for the next generation,” she said.

The museum is divided into sections covering 15-20 year periods

“We’re celebrating people that built this town and that worked here and lived here,” Coker said.

The museum takes you on a walk through time, big names, significant events and some technology that might have the younger generation wondering what some of these things are.

It took a village to get the place open.

“I’m just so proud of the people that worked together. No problems, no fussing, no arguments. We just all came in and did the work,” she said.

“You can come in here and spend a little time in this museum and find out anything that you want to know about Eclectic. How it started, where it came from, the movers and the shakers,” said Eclectic Mayor Gary Davenport.

It started with one woman and a vision.

“We still have room for some more because it’ll probably be wall to wall before we get through,” Coker said.

The museum is on Main Street in downtown Eclectic behind the library. It’s open Saturdays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. However, Coker said anyone can get her whenever the library is open, and she will be glad to give a tour.

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