Museum plan moves swiftly

In a matter of a couple of weeks, four disparate entities managed to obtain $6,000 to fund a feasibility study for a museum in the old Rockingham County courthouse in Wentworth.
The courthouse will remain when the new judicial center is finished, but how it will be used remains mostly unclear. What is clear is Lindley Butler and his supporters’ vision and their willingness and fortitude to get something done. And get it done quickly.
The museum won’t open for a few years, but the fact that we have a solid plan offers a great example for county officials – and residents – to follow.
As Heather Smith reported Wednesday, county artifacts commonplace 20 years ago are fading from the landscape. Antique automobiles, legacies of Rockingham County’s tobacco past and the culture of mill towns need to be preserved and shared with younger generations.
We wholeheartedly support the move.
Butler said the historic buildings of Wentworth made it the logical choice. Wright’s Tavern, Rockingham Community College’s historic collections and other older buildings stand in Wentworth, and the town is in a central location to the rest of the county. The Chinqua Penn plantation, arguably the county’s premier attraction, is also nearby.
To pay for the study, Wentworth, the county’s historical society, the Tourism Development Authority and the county each contributed $1,500. Butler’s museum group then recruited Bill Moore, retired director of the Greensboro Historical Museum, to study feasibility and advise the committee. Butler said Moore built Greensboro’s museum into one of the “finest regional museums” in the state over 30 years.
Moore, as we reported, agreed to help the committee and estimated the study would cost no more than $6,000. That’s good news, because political hand wringing would have delayed the process and led officials to more expensive options.
Many ideas are developed, but we’re often left wondering whether they will come to fruition. If we’re to take anything from the group’s swift progress to this point, that is hardly a concern.