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Stafford could move some of its historical material |
Stafford County and the National Park Service have agreed to a feasibility study that could establish a county museum at Chatham Manor, using some of that historical building's space and federal staff support.
It is seen as a vital step toward the future establishment of a permanent museum in the county.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to seek such a partnership. The feasibility group is expected to convene before the end of the year and take six to eight months to draw up a proposal.
"This is a win-win situation for everyone," said Russell P. Smith, superintendent of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, which includes Chatham. "This begins the process of telling the story of Stafford County in the broader picture."
M.C. Moncure, Stafford County's tourism manager, said the Chatham partnership "would enhance the visitors' experience in the area, not just that of the building itself but also of its role in the history of the county."
Jane Conner, a leader of the county historical society, expressed delight.
"I didn't think it would happen so soon," she said.
The large resources of the Stafford County Historical Society are mostly stored at the Stafford school bus maintenance center on Enon Road and in the attics and basements of members. There has been virtually
The Museum Committee, from its share of the county's 5 percent occupancy tax, had built a $1 million reserve over the past three years. But in May, the supervisors, facing a $4 million deficit, took it back.
A parcel of land on Courthouse Road, half a mile west of U.S. 1, has been dedicated by the county as a museum site. But there is no money to build.
In May, Smith was before the Board of Supervisors to present an update.
During Smith's remarks, Supervisor Harry Crisp told him about possible partnerships between the National Park Service and the coun-ty's tourism office. Smith "warmly received" the suggestion.
As the possibility of a free-standing museum for the county became increasingly challenging, Crisp suggested the Museum Committee, on which he serves, endorse a study to determine if a Stafford County museum could be accommodated at Chatham.
On Monday the committee endorsed the idea and voted to use its last $10,000 for the feasibility study, which will include representatives from the NPS and the Museum Committee. The committee will pay for a museum-design expert to provide guidance.
That decision got the issue before the supervisors the next day.
We want to weave the artifacts and the art and the drawings and the words together," Smith said. "We don't want to be what you might call an 'attic museum.' And we want to work with the county on this."
This arrangement will not be permanent. Both sides in this project understand that a free-standing museum in Stafford County is the ultimate goal.
When the park service took over Chatham in 1978, Smith said, "we put in temporary exhibits, focusing on who had lived here and how. We thought we would get more. We didn't."
Chatham lost visitors, money and staff and had to close down weekdays.
"So we called for volunteers. Amazingly, we got 58," Smith said. Three years ago Chatham went back to being open seven days a week.
John Hennessy, chief park service historian for the area and a member of the Museum Committee, said "Chat-ham is a metaphor for the Civil War South. This is a story we can tell through Stafford's eyes."
Smith agreed.
"This is a very important historic house," he said. "We want to attract the students of the Revolution, the Civil War buffs, the garden lovers and the house fans. There's a lot more we should be doing. This proposed partnership is an opportunity to do it."
Hugh Muir: 540/735-1975
Email: hmuir@freelancestar.com
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Chatham was built between 1768 and 1771, overlooking the Rappahannock River and Fredericksburg, and was host to three once-or-future presidents--George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. It also was a Union command center and hospital during the Battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Red Cross founder Clara Barton was a nurse there. Poet Walt Whitman was a nurse's aide. The property's first owner was William Fitz-hugh, a colleague of Washington's in Virginia's House of Burgesses. The house passed through more than five families, was repaired after the Civil War and was bought in 1931 by industrialist John D. Pratt, who died in 1978. He had no heirs and willed the property to the National Park Service. The once-vast plantation now contains 50 acres. |
