The Troup County Archives is gearing up for a truly historic event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the building it calls home.

Staff at the archives is already taking reservations for the celebration, which will feature the museum’s newest exhibit, “1918 LaGrange: Before the Roar” and plenty of food and fun to celebrate the building’s history before it became the home to the Troup County Archives.

“It will all be themed around 1918,” said Shannon Johnson, the executive director of the archives. “A new exhibit will be installed and give an idea of what LaGrange looked like, what the building looked like, what people looked like in 1918. What people were driving, what people were eating and that kind of thing.”

The menu will be made up of dishes that would have been popular in 1918, including Moon Pies, which were first offered that year. There will also be music and plenty of balloons to celebrate the building’s birthday.

“The building was built as the LaGrange National Bank, and it was occupied Jan. 1 of 1918,” Johnson said. “The archives did not come into the building until 1982, and there are several (other occupants). LaGrange National Bank becomes C&S (Citizens and Southern) Bank, and then there were some other things. Goodwill was even here (in the building) for a while.”

The historical society has had the building since 1982. According to Johnson, the first floor was initially just used for archives. The museum was installed in the building in 2007. The Troup County Archives currently stores records for the Troup County government, the City of LaGrange government and the Troup County Board of Education.

The birthday soiree celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Troup County Archives building will take place on Feb. 20 starting at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $30 for members or $35 for non-members. For more information or to make a reservation, call (706) 884-1828.