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County Historical Society breaks ground on museum addition
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
By a unanimous vote to approve a 25-foot setback variance, the Caledonia City Council set construction of the 10,620 square foot museum addition for the Houston County Historical Society (HCHS) in motion. The variance request was reviewed at the Nov. 9 council meeting.
The following day crews were cutting down the large spruce and maple trees just west of the HCHS Historic Village on the Houston County Fairgrounds in Caledonia.
By Wednesday Alan Meyer of Meyer Concrete Construction and Steve Bauer of Caledonia Lumber had the 90 by 212 by 65 foot C-shaped building staked out and dirt was being removed for the basement level.
“This has all happened so fast,” said HCHS President Shirley Johnson. “We decided because material prices are lower than they had been, and we were able to get some very good bids on both materials and labor, now was the time to move forward.”
According to Bauer, plans are to pour the footings, the basement floor and walls, and get the first-floor deck on the structure before winter sets in. If Mother Nature cooperates and provides a late fall, crews will continue with the shell of the stick-built building, which will have metal walls and roof.
The HCHS has been waiting for this day for more than a dozen years. The first plans for a major addition to the original building were drawn up a decade ago. The original building, which is 1,950 square feet, was built in 1969. The addition will be a C-shaped building running 65 feet west off the back end of the existing building, then running south for 212 feet and then east for 90 feet. The C-shaped addition will serve as a backdrop to the Historic Village, with a grassy area between the five historic buildings and the museum addition.
Several years ago it appeared as if the HCHS had raised the necessary funds to break ground on the addition, which in 2007 had an estimated price tag of around $700,000. When the bids came in however, Historical Society board members were hit with sticker shock, as the bid price was nearly twice what was anticipated.
So it was back to the drawing board.
A number of amenities were cut out of the plans. And it was decided to have the shell constructed and then finish the interior as additional funds and/or volunteer help would provide.
The HCHS hasn’t had a lot of activity with their fund-raising efforts in the past year. It appeared as if people were waiting to see what the HCHS was going to do and if the major addition would become a reality. During the decade-long fund-raising drive HCHS was able to put approximately $600,000 in the building fund.
“We’re hoping that when people see that we are moving forward, it will generate interest and we will once again begin receiving donations and hopefully some volunteer help,” Johnson noted.
You can contact Charlie Warner at
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