Meet our founder

Gwendolyn Ware Redwine is a 5th generation plus Troup County native who has dedicated 34+ years of her life to capturing the county's African American history. She initially joined the Troup County Historical Society in 1988, serving on the Board of Directors for 34 years. She is a documentarian, preserving Troup County history, as a member of the City of LaGrange Historic Preservation Commission.

Her contributions to the City of LaGrange Historic Preservation Commission via the

Troup County Archives includes but not limited to securing the 2017 Georgia Council on Humanities $12K grant used to restore the gravesite of Horace King, a historic bridge builder and first African American to serve in the Alabama State Legislature. She also made contributions to the returning of the Horace King’s Wehadkee Creek Bridge to LaGrange from Calloway Gardens, which was moved 57 years ago to build a dam. It was placed near Horace King’s Memorial Gravesite at Mulberry Street Cemetery aka the Confederate Cemetery, formerly named  Miller Street Cemetery.

Gwendolyn mothered 3 children (Alena, Lanier, and Ami) and raised them as a single mom.  She earned an Associates of Arts degree in Liberal Arts at Reinhart College and a Bachelors of Science degree in Political Science with a minor in History from West Georgia College (now University of West Georgia). In 1982, she was elected the first city of Whitesburg African American member of the City Council. Later, she inherited the LaGrange Child Development Center (1986-2010) from her mother, Allene Strickland Ware. After her mother's passing, Gwen continued her mother legacy as the director for 25 years.

Johnette Brooks, a longtime genealogy colleague says “Gwen does more blind before 9AM than most of us do all day combined.”  Monique Bentley, former Vice President of the African American Alliance and graduate of the Georgia State University stated, “Ms. Redwine is phenomenal and an inspiration. I am honored to be of assistance to her! She is the type of person who gets more things done in the community than someone who has sight.” Alton West, Director of the LaGrange Community Development stated, “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Gwen when she with on the Troup County Historical Preservation Committee. She does a lot for the city and the downtown LaGrange area. We meet monthly and even with her limited mobility, she continues to do an excellent job.”

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