Sasha Hutchings and partner Meka Seymour have spent over a year curating “The Hutchings Collection” inside 557 Monroe Street in Macon, Georgia, documenting family and local history ahead of community tours this weekend.
Preserving a Century at 557 Monroe Street
For over a century, the Hutchings family has called 557 Monroe Street home. Having established the initial Black-owned funeral establishment in Macon, the relatives have resided at 557 ever since the municipality’s establishment back in the initial decades of the 1800s. Inside the house, items range from bright green wallpaper to a saxophone-wielding clown doll stored in the backroom closet. Over a year ago, Hutchings and Seymour realized that the home’s history needed to be documented.
“So much of the community in the city of Macon is represented in these stories, and our history is represented in these stories,” Hutchings stated. “You just sort of realize, ‘Oh the story is going and if I don’t write it down or record it no one will.'”
The Hutchings Collection and Artifacts
The pair established “The Hutchings Collection” to create their own archive of everything inside the residence, including century-old letters, photos, and teacups. Every discovered item has been arranged as though generations of the Hutchings are still living there. The pair is also working to put the home on the National Registry of Historic Homes.
“We’ve had this really rich experience of being in this house where we are just waiting for these walls to talk to us, and I think at some time, at some points they really have,” Hutchings noted. “I think our family growth has been alongside the growth of Macon, Georgia.”
Community Weekend Tours in Macon
This weekend, Hutchings and Seymour are inviting community leaders to tour the home to witness the Hutchings family and Macon history. The team coordinating the events aims to gather additional suggestions regarding methods to transform the residence into an educational destination for fellow Macon residents.
“It’s really good work and I think that it will be a gift. I know it will be a gift to our family and I definitely think it will be a gift to many people beyond that,” Hutchings said.
“I don’t think anybody’s ever preserved history on their own by themselves so we’ve done a lot of hard work and we’re excited to share it,” Hutchings added.
