SUMMERDALE — The Summmerdale Town Museum will hold its grand opening this weekend.

The free event will be held 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the museum, which is housed in the Summerdale Community Center at 300 W. Jackson St.. The afternoon will include refreshments and the opportunity to see items depicting Summerdale’s heritage.

“It’s a history of Summerdale,” museum volunteer Edna Woodard said in a phone interview.

She explained that the facility includes a century-old desk that was once used by a former state senator in Montgomery and 25 pictures of World War II veterans.

“That’s something to see,” Woodard said.

But that’s not all. Woodard said items from World War I, the Civic War and even the Spanish-American War are displayed. Plus, other aspects of Summerdale’s heritage are featured.

“We’ve got a lot of neat things,” Woodard said.

Those things include an early 20the century pipe organ,, tin-type photographs from the 1800s and Native American pottery found on County Road 32, as well as a display honoring NASCAR great Walter Ballard, who brought down items from his North Carolina collections.

“I thought that was nice,” Woodard said.

In addition, Summerdale’s potato history is also honored.

“We are going to have a potato patch,” she said, explaining that the patch will be a working garden on land just outside the museum.

Woodard said the museum is something that she has wanted for two decades. Then the Summerdale Town Council joined her in that vision about a year ago by building a room at the Community Center. Since then, town residents have donated items for the venture.

Regular hours of operation will be determined by how many volunteers help man the museum. For more information about the museum or to volunteer, call 251-989-6202.