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Billy Graham’s library consists of fifteen screens, a deli, a souvenir repository, a talking calf, a prayer chamber, and even the house where he grew up, which can be visited. Whenever you enter the front entrance, you will notice Bessie, the popular talking calf, to your right side. Horse-drawn carriage rides are available during Christmas vacations. A live nativity scene is also available, which will enable you to go camping in crowders mountain state park nearby. Smoking, alcoholic beverages, outdoor eating and drinking, and pets are not allowed on the premises. Here is the den where the administrative offices are located, and there is also a large and beautiful dining room here. There are plenty of chairs available if you want to stay there and eat sitting down.

Ruth’s Memory

During the Christmas season, when my group was there, the current store was packed with tourists at 9 pm. Named after Billy’s wife, Ruth Graham, it contains an excellent selection of Bibles, Graham’s family books, classic Billy Graham sermons on DVD, and a large collection of gifts, including music, clothing, and specialty items. Just look up at the ceiling to see each of the novels on the opposite side of this glass. Also on display is his desk and the chair he used over the years.

The Graham Family Home

The house was occupied after staging, but luckily I was able to snap a few photos on the way. Billy lived in this house from the age of nine until he went off to college. Both houses were located on his dairy farm on Park Road, four miles north of what is now the Billy Graham Library. This latest residence had indoor pipes, and they no longer ought to soak in a tub on the rear balcony. Billy’s parents remained in this home until their death. The living room were designed by Mother Graham.

Since becoming available in 1984, the house was relocated to the now infamous Jim Baker property in Fort Mill, SC, where it was available as a tourist attraction until 1997. Nine decades later, it was moved to its current location in the Billy Graham Library. Several early building materials were used in the restoration, including most of the second-floor wood floors and a few thousand bricks. The house is now furnished like what Mother Graham appreciated when she lived there.

Originally the house had four bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. Much of this original furniture is still in the building. You will see many of these royal family photos taken over the years in the floor plan. 

Memorial Prayer Garden

Walking along the brick road, which is shaped like a cross, you reach the quiet place, which is located at the edge of the woods. George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows, who were members of the Crusade team, asked to be buried with their friends in a place a short distance away. There was hand sanitizer on the fence for anyone who wanted it.

There was a real camel, a donkey, a small deer-like monster, two tiny furry creatures that resembled an ox, along with a male goat that followed the human wise men on stage very well. I think these creatures were probably sedated, as they were well acted the whole period. Yes, that’s when we knew it was a real monster. I was able to pet one of these furry animals, like the ox, because it was next to the fence that enclosed the feeder. The horses had poop bags that encouraged them to move deftly, so no one had to clean up.