Joe Anderson owned and operated the Shoe Shop in Camden for over forty years. His daughter Betty Anderson has preserved the shop as a museum to honor her parents and grandparents along with their hometowns of Camden and Gee’s Bend. Betty’s mother (Marie Coleman Anderson) and grandmother (Minder Coleman) made most of the quilts by hand in Gee’s Bend, and they date from 1920 to 2011.
The Shoe Shop & Quilt Museum includes an eclectic display of quilts, furniture, artwork, period clothing, and documents, along with Betty’s father’s (Joe Anderson) historic shoe repair equipment, which dates to the late 1800s.
Betty Anderson provides tours of the museum. She also does speaking engagements. Contact the Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center in Camden for information. Betty is an Artist in Residence at Black Belt Treasures.
The photographs that are provided include screenshots of Google Street View.
The Shoe Shop Museum is located at the intersection of Planters Street and Union Street in downtown Camden (31.991613,-87.290512 – Google Maps).
Sources: 1) blackbelttreasures.com/visit-the-camden-shoe-shop-museum; 2) Wilcox Historical Society.