Ava Gardner Museum

The original collection was started in 1941 by a fan, Thomas "Tom" Banks, who at age 12 met Ava on the campus of Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College), where she was studying to become a secretary. When she did not return to school the next year, he saw a photograph of Gardner in a newspaper and learned that she had been signed to a movie contract with MGM.^[1]

Banks and his wife, Lorraine, collected memorabilia and artifacts related to Gardner. In the early 1980s, Dr. Banks purchased the Brogden Teacherage building, the house where Ava lived from ages 2 to 13.^[1]

Following Thomas Banks' death in 1989, Lorraine Banks donated the museum's collection to the town of Smithfield. In 1999, the museum purchased its current home, a renovated 6,400 square foot building in downtown Smithfield.^[1]

In 2020, the building experienced a flood due to a broken toilet. None of the collections were damaged, but repairs required the museum to close for a few weeks.^[2]

• Official website

35°30′39″N 78°20′42″W / 35.5109°N 78.3451°W / 35.5109; -78.3451