Herndon Home full of history, but its future is unclear
Museum needs repairs, faces financial challenge

By Ernie Suggs, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The house on Diamond Hill is a little battered, but still standing.

The house, the 99-year-old Herndon Home, former residence of Alonzo Herndon and his son, Norris, is the only privately owned and operated African-American home museum in the United States.

Recent storms have damaged the shutters and two-story columns. Budget restraints have forced the home’s administrators to trim the staff, and tours are now available by appointment only.

“We are reducing our non-essential costs,” said Belinda Stubblefield, a member of the Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation, which oversees the upkeep of the home.

“This is what we have to do in these lean times,” she said. “But it is important that we keep the Herndon message out there and remain visible and relevant.”

The challenge now is how to remain relevant as the home — one of only two African-American National Historic Landmarks in Atlanta, along with the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site — prepares to celebrate its centennial.

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