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Wilder, staff members visit slavery museum office

Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder discusses plans for National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, says public update coming next month.

Elizabeth Waters
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 10/4/2002

Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and two new senior staff members of his National Slavery Museum came to Fredericksburg to get a local office going.

They directed the setup of the museum’s offices, interviewed receptionist candidates and visited the future site of the museum in the Celebrate Virginia tourism development.

Wilder said he is planning a large mid-November event in Fredericksburg to “bring the public totally up to date” on plans for the project.

Wilder said an architect has created a conceptual design for the building that may be used in brochures. He said plans to work with local organization such as George Washington’s Fredericksburg Foundation, the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and the National Park Service in planning the museum.

And Wilder said he hopes to expand the three-member museum board group by adding a Fredericksburg resident.

Wilder had previously said he hoped to have some part of the museum open in 2003, but backed off from that deadline today.

“We’ll be moving dirt in 2003.We obviously won’t have anything open in 2003,” he said.

For more on Wilder’s visit, read Saturday’s Free Lance–Star.

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Date published: 10/4/2002