To the Editor:

 

Your editorial in the June 12 issue of the Washington Daily News, concerning the need for an historic museum in Washington, was right on.

In 2008, while looking at Old City Hall (also known as the DeMille building), I thought someone should do something with that building. It was obvious that it would be a perfect location for a museum dedicated to the history of Washington and the surrounding area. I began asking about the building and found that it was at that time a joint ownership by city and county. The Washington Area Historic Foundation had spent a great deal of time, effort and money trying to save it from destruction. I started by looking at museums in New Bern, Edenton, Beaufort and even Asheville. I learned a lot of what worked and what didn’t. I talked to the WAHF, Downtown Washington on the Waterfront and with many friends who gave me leads and found that there was great interest in a museum locally. Some people offered to lend historic artifacts to populate the museum. With support from the WDN and WAFH, a meeting was called in the Council Chamber meeting room and a large crowd showed up with ideas to develop a museum. I began to develop a business plan since once the museum was operating, we would need to heat and air condition it, provide for insurance, a salary and maintenance. Where would the income come from? We estimated how many people might visit it and how much we could charge and realized we would have to have support from the city/county and fundraisers. I was advised by the then city manager, the city wanted to get rid of the building and that he thought any significant financial support was unlikely. I realized while there is tremendous support for the museum, the money was not there. Considering the Estuarium’s plight, I don’t think things have changed, sad to say.

If you start by lining up the money, you will have no trouble filling the museum with a first-rate historical collection.

Sincerely,

George Fields

Washington