Persistence pays off for Appomattox museum bid


By Sarah Watson
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September 6, 2007

An early reaction from Museum of the Confederacy officials to
Appomattox tourism proponents about relocating the largest collection
of Civil War artifacts in the world in part to a tiny town off U.S.
460?
"It's in the middle of nowhere."

But S. Waite Rawls III, the museum's president and CEO, said Wednesday
that Appomattox's persistence in selling itself as a tourism
destination despite the location is what paid off in the end.

"They drove home the point that despite its inaccessibility, a whole
lot of people were getting there anyway," he said. "That really caught
our interest."

Though it isn't a done deal yet, the Richmond museum announced
Wednesday its intent to locate permanent exhibits from its collection
to Appomattox, Chancellorsville and possibly other locations.

The museum's headquarters, collections storage and research facilities
would stay in Richmond because of close ties to the Library of
Virginia and the Virginia Historical Society, Rawls said.

"Right now, it's at the real good idea stage where a lot of people
have said, 'That's a really good idea and let's pursue this as hot and
heavy as we can,'" Rawls said.

The museum's exact location has yet to be determined, but it won't be
part of the Appomattox Court House National Park, said park historian
Patrick Schroeder. "But it will be a benefit to have another
historical institution with the original artifacts so close by."

News of the plan was embraced Wednesday by officials in Appomattox
County and the Town of Appomattox, who see it as a potential boon for
tourism dollars and economic development.

Appomattox already attracts between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors a
year, including a large number of Civil War tourists who are known to
spend time and money, Rawls said. The goal is finding ways and reasons
for tourists to stay longer.

The announcement comes just as several projects are deep into their
planning stages, including preservation of the site of the Battle of
Appomattox Station, the precursor to the famed surrender at the
courthouse in April, 1865.

"It's exciting that this announcement comes at the same time that
we're in the process of discovering a lot of new information about the
Battle of Appomattox Station," said Scott Smith, project manager for
the battlefield restoration.

In May, a consulting firm announced that the battlefield's roads and
characteristics were still visible and an antebellum house was found
in the woods in remarkably good shape, with full restoration a very
strong probability.

The town responded to a proposal request about possibly relocating the
Museum of the Confederacy away from Richmond about a year ago, Beckie
Nix, tourism director for the town of Appomattox said. "We felt in the
beginning it would be a tremendous site and a win-win situation for
both the museum and Appomattox," she said.

"The town has the name recognition to help them," she said. "And
anytime you do a paired site of similar interests like the national
park and the Museum of the Confederacy, you're going to bring more
visitors who are going to stay longer, and that results in a very
positive economic impact on the area."

While there had been numerous conversations, Nix said the town didn't
know for sure until the news release was sent Wednesday morning.

Rawls said he has been to the town to tour several potential places
near the national park property. "We have a lot of options," he said.

The museum hired an architect to design the first plans about two weeks ago.

Nix thought the town might be included in some form of the project and
put together a basic economic impact study to show town council
members last month.

Using data from the Virginia Tourism Corporation's profile on Civil
War travelers and their spending habits, Nix realized that the town
could see an additional $8 million per year "just resulting from a
one-night stay of the visitors we already have."

"We believe the future of Appomattox's growth is in tourism," Del.
Watkins Abbitt, I-Appomattox, said. "This would certainly be a great
addition to the national park here. It would attract more people and
hopefully hold visitors longer and overnight."

Museum visitation in Richmond has dropped significantly in the last 10
years, from 92,000 in the early 1990s to 44,000 in the last budget
year.

Appomattox County administrator Aileen Ferguson said the county was
hoping the town would be the final choice, but was unaware of the
decision until Wednesday afternoon. "We really felt it would be an
enhancement to the community and a great tourism draw, so we're really
excited about the opportunity."

The first step is to get the concept to the public, meaning access to
potential donors, Rawls said. The museum will need to raise about $15
million for the entire project, including new museum buildings in
Appomattox and Chancellorsville.

"The first stage is conceptual. Then raise the money, do the details
and then you put a shovel in the ground," Rawls said.

As soon as the concept is approved by the museum's board of directors
sometime in early 2008, the fundraising process will begin, Rawls
said. They will look for state, local and federal money as well as
private donations, he said.

"This will take a lot of assistance from the General Assembly," he
said. "We think it's a real good thing for the General Assembly
because it's not just focused on one area of the state."

The fundraising campaign will likely take about 18 months. The goal is
to start construction on the entire project in 2009 for completion in
time for the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War in 2011.

Conceptual plans call for about 5,000 feet of exhibit space, with
roughly half devoted to Appomattox-related exhibits. The other half
would be dedicated to rotating and traveling exhibits, Rawls said.

The project will put about three times the amount of artifacts on
display with four to five times as many people having opportunities to
view items from the collection, Rawls said. "That's the exciting
part."

"It's hard to get more than 50,000 to 75,000 people per year to one
site," he said. "I think we can get that many or more at these sites
because the people are already there" for other reasons.

"It's exciting news for the local people, for the town of Appomattox,"
Schroeder said. "Any time you can draw in a quality museum, it's going
to be a benefit to the local area. It will just add to the history
here."