Museum Reopens

Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: February 3, 2008

The Lynchburg Museum finally returned from its long sick leave this weekend, and Doug Harvey wasn’t sure what to expect.

“We could have nobody,” he said on Friday, “or we could be swamped.”

As it turned out, the result was somewhere in between. Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday, just more than 90 visitors toured the renovated museum, which was closed in July of 2000 after most of the upstairs ceiling fell in.

At the time, there were those who thought the Old City Courthouse was history. Instead, it’s now back to presenting history.

“The important thing,” said education coordinator Rachel Deddens, “is that people know the museum is alive and well.”

And different, to some degree. Instead of the re-created Hustings Court that occupied the front room on the main floor at the time of the July 16, 2000, collapse, the first thing Saturday’s visitors saw was a local history timeline and a majestic mural of downtown painted by Edward Beyer in 1855.

“They did an excellent job, I think,” said Jay Reeves of Lynchburg, who toured the re-opened museum with his wife, Sue.

Of course, as a lawyer, Reeves did express some nostalgia for the old courtroom.

“I had kind of hoped they would keep it to hold court in on special occasions, like the first day of a new term,” he said. “But that’s OK.”

A series of placards, put together by Thayer Design of Madison Heights, condenses Lynchburg’s hundreds of years of history into a concise and compelling package. Artifacts in the main room include Monacan arrowheads, a sword given to Confederate Gen. John McCausland by grateful Lynchburgers, Gen. Jubal Early’s beverage cooler, and a Dunbar majorette uniform worn by Lynda Woodruff, one of the first two black students to enroll at E.C. Glass High School.

Beyond that room are four smaller galleries with exhibits titled “Arts and Artisans,” “Piedmont Pride,” “Lynchburg Life,” and “An Ornament on the Hill.”

“We’ll be rotating exhibits quite a bit,” Deddens said, “although all of our stuff in storage is over at the Business Development Center over on Mill Ridge. The basement is still largely unused (except for a Civil War cannon), and we’ll be putting some things down there.”

Even at that, Harvey said, the museum is currently presenting between 500 and 700 items for the perusal of visitors - most of whom, according to the guest book, were from Lynchburg and its surrounding counties on Saturday. Another 300 people attended a series of open houses before the official opening.

“We’re hoping for some outside tourist traffic in a few months,” Deddens said, “and I’m already working on schools to try to set up some field trips.”

Upstairs in the Gifford Galley (the spot where the ceiling caved in), Glenda Blanks was presiding over an exhibit of old Lynchburg toys.

“These came from Bragassa’s Toy Store,” Blanks said as she gently prodded a Lionel train locomotive into motion with her forefinger. “That’s another place the Historical Society was for awhile.”

Downstairs, there was punch and cookies available for visitors. The museum is also waiving its fee for the month of February.

Throughout the Old Courthouse, the hardwood floors and massive wooden stair rails remain the same, and the building has retained its impressive sense of scale.

“I’m just glad it’s back,” Rachel Deddens said.