Historical Society undergoing renovation project
Across the covered bridges and through the historical town of Waynesburg, one can find themselves at the Greene County Historical Society and see the progress of the three-year historical village renovation.
The new buildings: a railroad engine shed that will house the Washington Locomotive #4 steam engine, the Teegarden log cabin and the Roseberry barber shop are all becoming part of the museum in Greene County.
“I think that it is important to preserve this cherished history and to help build an interest in it,” said Museum Director Eben Williams. “Our dream at the museum is to have a sort of village experience with different buildings and activities to show how our predecessors lived in Greene County.”
The renovation idea was the brain child of a combination of board members and people from the community, Williams said.
The railroad engine shed is being built to preserve the locomotive that is at the moment exposed to the outdoor weather. The log cabin will signify the Teegarden family and their historic role in Greene County history. The barber shop will be another historic building that will signify what Greene County used to look like.
The project is funded by a grant and donations. More donations are needed to start working on the barbershop. The museum needs approximately $150,000 to complete the project.
Because the museum is not a non-profit organization, they do not receive funds and donations like other groups within the community such as the food bank. Williams believes that this should not be the case; he believes that members of the community should take pride in where they have come from and put effort into preserving that history.
The museum provides its members with opportunities to help by volunteering with the log cabin construction and the barbershop. Members may also provide office products that the museum office always needs. Instead of hiring professional contractors for all the buildings, volunteers are beginning to work on the log cabin, but Williams said that more helpers are always welcomed.
“The people who are our foundation are those volunteers that share their time not for personal gain but for mere love of the museum, its people and its cause,” Williams said.
Williams wants the buildings to be portrayed in the front and to the sides of the original museum building to catch the attention of people driving by on the road, and hopefully making them stop and check it out. He wants the museum to feel like a village more than a museum.
“Some of these things people have only experienced through books, pictures and movies; the expectation is to give the museum visitor an interactive experience which I feel can educate people far better than books and lectures can,” Williams said.
The renovation is planned to be completed within three years, but Williams said the museum does not plan on stopping there. They plan to become more introspective, start working on what the museum calls the “dungeon” and also begin necessary repairs throughout the original building, he said.