Billy Graham Library – Getting to Know the Famous Evangelist

On my way through Charlotte, NC, I often saw signs on the highway pointing toward the Billy Graham Library but I knew nothing about it. I did know that he was a famous evangelist. So when a local tour agency offered a one-day escorted tour to the Library I signed up, eager to see the library.

Note: I have never heard Billy Graham preach. This is written from my objective viewpoint.

Billy Graham

William Franklin Graham Jr. was an American evangelist, a prominent evangelical Christian figure, and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was born in November 1919 and died in February 2018 at the age of 99.

As a preacher, he held large indoor and outdoor rallies. His sermons were broadcast on radio and television. In his six decades on television, Graham hosted annual “Crusades“, evangelistic campaigns that ran from 1947 until his retirement in 2005. He also hosted the radio show Hour of Decision from 1950 to 1954. 

Graham drew record crowds to his Billy Graham Crusades and became so popular that between 1950 and 1990, he appeared on the Gallup Organization’s “Most Admired” list more often than any other American.

Graham was a spiritual adviser to U.S. presidents. He had a personal audience with many sitting presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama.

The Billy Graham Library

The Billy Graham Library is a public museum and library documenting the life and ministry of Christian evangelist Billy Graham. 

It is a 40,000 square-foot experience covering the life and legacy of “America’s Pastor”. The building design reflects Billy Graham’s journey from a humble farm boy to an international ambassador of God’s love. The barn-shaped building sits on 20 landscaped acres. It is only miles from where he grew up in Charlotte, NC.

The Barn

The building, designed in part by consultants who used to work for Walt Disney Co., is shaped like a large barn with a silo — a reminder of Billy Graham’s early childhood on a dairy farm near Charlotte. To enter the building, we passed through a 40-foot-high glass entry cut in the shape of a cross.     

The Tour  

Upon entry, a guide greeted us then escorted us to Bessie the Cow, a mechanical talking cow. Immediately, I thought of Disney World.

Bessie is a hoot! She mesmerized the children standing in front of me as she described Billy Graham’s childhood on a dairy farm.

Next, the guide took us to benches where we watched a video that gave us an overview of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. After that, we followed a path through 13 rooms filled with multimedia exhibits and memorabilia. We entered many of the rooms through one set of doors, then left through another set of doors that automatically opened at the end of the presentation. This also reminded me of Disney.

The Preacher’s Wife

According to those who knew her, Ruth Bell Graham always spoke her mind. When she and Billy married in 1943, Ruth, raised by Presbyterian missionaries in China, told her husband, a Southern Baptist, that she would remain a Presbyterian. When Billy announced in 1947 that he wanted to become a full-time traveling evangelist, she insisted that they settle in Montreat, a hamlet in the Blue Ridge Mountains, so that she and the children could be near family.

A Fearless Mom

Billy traveled as much as six months at a time, and while he was away, Ruth was raising their five children in a log house. Her children say she was fearless and fun, a mom who thought nothing of chopping off the heads of rattlesnakes or driving a motocross bike into a split-rail fence when she realized she didn’t know how to stop it.

Ruth’s Attic Bookstore

Named after Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, the bookstore features, as would be expected, a selection of Bibles. There are books by the Graham family and others. It also sells classic Billy Graham sermons on DVD, and a selection of gifts including music, apparel and specialty items. There is also an exhibit of his personal library and desk.

Graham Brothers Dairy Bar

This is where we ate our included lunch. They serve specialty coffees, soups, salads, sandwiches, barbeque, ice cream and Mother Graham’s pound cake. We thought the food was very tasty.

Graham Family Homeplace

The Graham Family homeplace was built in 1927 on a dairy farm about four miles from the Library. Billy’s mother, Morrow Coffey Graham, lived in the homeplace until she died in 1981. The original house was moved to this site at the Library, where it has been restored.

Memorial Prayer Garden

This tranquil garden lies at the edge of the woods at the end of a cross-shaped brick walkway. Billy Graham was buried here in 2018, next to his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, who passed away in 2007.

Ruth wanted to be buried near her home in Montreat, NC but in the end, her son, Franklin, prevailed and she was buried at the Library.

And Finally

There is no charge to tour the Library, however, donation boxes are located in the lobby for those who would like to contribute. There are also several opportunities to get on their mailing list. Staff handed us a “decision card” to fill out for those requesting spiritual help. They will contact anyone requesting such help or you can speak to someone at the Library after the tour. It was not required that we fill it out and no one pressured us to do so. All the staff and volunteers were very courteous.

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