2008 Woodie Awards
Will a controversial museum find its new home in Lexington?
Christina Pratt
Issue date: 3/21/07 Section: News
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2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Thousands of Civil War buffs from around the country are expected to honor that anniversary with a trip to the Museum of the Confederacy. There is a very good chance that by then, they will be making that trip to Lexington.
Museum officials began to look into a possible move last fall, after years of struggling to keep visitation up next to the sprawling Virginia Commonwealth Medical Campus.
Currently, the museum is located in downtown Richmond next to the former White House of the Confederacy, home of Jefferson Davis during the Civil War. It houses the world's largest collection of Civil War artifacts.
Adjacent to VCU, the school's expanding campus has left the museum difficult to access and unable to expand. It has seen a drop in annual visitation from 92,000 in the early 1990s to about 51,500.
The museum's president Waite Rawls, a VMI alum, along with its board of directors, first met with Lexington and Rockbridge county officials in January to discuss the use of the old Main Street court house building which will soon be left vacant.
Many agree that Lexington would be an appropriate site. It is home to numerous confederate landmarks, including the gravesites of two of the confederacy's most beloved figures, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
Both the museum and the city of Lexington are still exploring their options. The museum is fielding interests from 11 sites within Virginia and the city is researching other uses for the vacant court house building.
Never the less, talks have continued to move forward. The Rockbridge County Tourism Board sent a letter March 14 to the MOC stating the boards intent to put together a proposal for the museum by April 15.
Brian Shaw, chairman of the tourism board, explained to supervisors at a public information session Monday night that those preparing the proposal are contemplating donating various properties around the courthouse including the old jail and lawyers row building. He called it a "strategic investment" that could lure the museum to Lexington.
Museum officials began to look into a possible move last fall, after years of struggling to keep visitation up next to the sprawling Virginia Commonwealth Medical Campus.
Currently, the museum is located in downtown Richmond next to the former White House of the Confederacy, home of Jefferson Davis during the Civil War. It houses the world's largest collection of Civil War artifacts.
Adjacent to VCU, the school's expanding campus has left the museum difficult to access and unable to expand. It has seen a drop in annual visitation from 92,000 in the early 1990s to about 51,500.
The museum's president Waite Rawls, a VMI alum, along with its board of directors, first met with Lexington and Rockbridge county officials in January to discuss the use of the old Main Street court house building which will soon be left vacant.
Many agree that Lexington would be an appropriate site. It is home to numerous confederate landmarks, including the gravesites of two of the confederacy's most beloved figures, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
Both the museum and the city of Lexington are still exploring their options. The museum is fielding interests from 11 sites within Virginia and the city is researching other uses for the vacant court house building.
Never the less, talks have continued to move forward. The Rockbridge County Tourism Board sent a letter March 14 to the MOC stating the boards intent to put together a proposal for the museum by April 15.
Brian Shaw, chairman of the tourism board, explained to supervisors at a public information session Monday night that those preparing the proposal are contemplating donating various properties around the courthouse including the old jail and lawyers row building. He called it a "strategic investment" that could lure the museum to Lexington.
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