At its June 2009 meeting, the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the Confederacy made the decision to continue on its plan for the Museum of the Confederacy Appomattox, though the current economy and the climate for raising capital will delay the construction phase of the project. Appomattox will be the first of three new museum sites in the Museum of the Confederacy’s expansion across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“The planning phase for the Appomattox museum is continuing. The beauty of the plan from the very beginning has been that it is adaptable according to the fundraising climate and the conditions of the economy,” stated S. Waite Rawls III, president and CEO of the Museum. “We have a set sequence of events that need to occur and we can slow down or speed up the process and still reach our ultimate goal.”
The Museum has completed the interpretive plans and invested over $500,000 dollars in the planning phase, including the work of nationally recognized architects and exhibit designers. Carlton Abbott and Associates has been selected as architect, and preliminary designs for the building and site have been approved. Haley Sharpe Design has begun exhibit design work. The Appomattox Town Council has signed a contract stating its commitment to purchase four acres of land near the intersection of Route 24 and the Highway 460 bypass. The land will then be leased to the Museum of the Confederacy.
The Museum is currently in the quiet phase of a capital campaign to fund the museum system project. When the money has been raised, the board will move forward with the hiring of a contractor for construction. The goal remains to have the Museum of the Confederacy Appomattox open early in the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.
“The Civil War is the most important era in American history and one of the most popular in world history,” said Rawls. “As we approach its 150th anniversary, our expansion is the biggest and most important project in the entire nation.”
The museum system will advance the Museum’s educational mission by broadening the reach of its extensive artifact collection. Four visitor sites will reach across the state, concentrating on and complementing existing flows of both historical and recreational travelers. The plan is contingent on support and financing. In addition to the current museum in Richmond, other future sites include the Fredericksburg region and Fort Monroe, Virginia.
“We have not experienced the same downturn that has affected many other not-for-profit institutions. Our visitation, membership, and annual giving are on par with last fiscal year,” said Carlton P. Moffatt, Jr., Chairman of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “Museum leadership is determined to carrying out the museum system, reaching a greater audience, and broadening our education and preservation mission.”
In addition to its world renowned galleries in Richmond, the Museum will retain its White House, headquarters, marketing and development functions, research library, and collections storage and conservation and preservation efforts in Richmond.
For more information about the Museum of the Confederacy and its future site in Appomattox and plans for a museum system across Virginia, please visit our website at http://www.moc.org/.
