Page 24 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2016

COASTNOTES
In northern Jackson County, between the communities of Haleston and Hurley, you will find Granly, now
a five-acre tract of land and home
to a historical Danish-American meetinghouse.
Else Martin was born in 1936 just as the meetinghouse was finished and has spent most of her life celebrating occasions there or working to save
and restore the historic site. Today, she lives just two miles from the Granly meetinghouse and the surrounding Danish property where she was born to first generation Danish-Americans.
In the early 1930s, Jackson County developers and a Danish Iowa banker formed a group to buy 1,000 acres of land and advertised this affordable farmland in Danish-American newspapers. They named it Granly, which in Danish means “in the shelter of evergreens.” During the Dust
Bowl and Great Depression, Granly’s settlers moved from the Midwest in search of affordable farmland.
“They were mainly farmers and carpenters,” says Martin. “They were all readers — well educated — and were a big help to the local people because they helped each other.”
The land was used as farmland and the meetinghouse was busy and active. “This is my place,” adds Martin. “For years we celebrated birthday parties, held vacation bible schools and folk dance lessons. It became our church.”
In 1935, a Danish Lutheran congregation was organized. By 1974
story by Alexis Williams photos by John Stricklin
TOP: THE DANISH-AMERICAN meetinghouse that is home to Granly Historical Foundation. LEFT: DEREK WAFFEL speaks to Foundation members. RIGHT: MEMBERS Dorothy Mullen, Bente Paul, and Else Martin.
HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
Preserving Danish-American history in Jackson County
24 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • August 2016
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the meetinghouse was no longer
being utilized as a church and most
of the younger generation had moved from the area. Ten years later, Martin realized the place she loved so much would be sold or razed so she decided to save it. She wrote more than 100 letters and contacted the Lutheran Church of America. With financial assistance from her Danish-American friends and obtaining status as a non-profit, Granly meetinghouse was saved.
Today, the Granly Historical Foundation membership has approximately 25 families. The historical meetinghouse remains with all of its homemade wooden benches, original altar and rail,
cabinets and floors. The land is now home to a cemetery with trails and the meetinghouse can be rented for special events. Each year on December 26, Danish descendants gather at Granly meetinghouse for a celebration with a traditional Danish dance around the Christmas tree and Danish food.
“It’s a piece of Americana that’s special in South Mississippi,” said Martin. “We’ve done all of this ourselves. There are people who love this place and want to protect it.”
Granly Historical Foundation, Inc.
228.588.2849 or 228.475.4575 Find us on Facebook