Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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About 50 people gathered Tuesday at the Bassett Historical Center to officially mark the beginning of its expansion. Above, Ronnie Stone, chairman of the center’s building committee, addresses the crowd. Work is expected to take about six months. (Photos by Steve Sheppard) |
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
By ELIZA WINSTON - Bulletin Staff Writer
Ground was broken Tuesday morning for a 4,195-square-foot, $805,000 expansion of the 20-year-old Bassett Historical Center.
Twenty people used golden shovels to launch the project. Construction will begin Monday and is expected to take six months, depending on the weather, according to center Director Pat Ross.
The addition will provide more space for workshops, displays and research.
Building committee chairman Ronnie Stone said the addition will fit in with the current building’s architecture. It will include a meeting room, multi-purpose room, records room, office space and space for more collections that might be donated.
When the center opened in 1989, all of its collections were housed in what is now called the “war room,” Stone said. The Bassett Library occupied the rest of the building.
After the library moved across the street in 1998, the center was able to expand into its former space, but no one imagined all that space would be filled. Now, he said, there isn’t enough room, and the number of visitors continues to grow.
People who come to the center often return for several days to research their family histories, and the facility always is packed, Ross said.
Sometimes, there are people listening to a speaker or participating in a workshop in the main room of the center while others are looking for research materials, she said.
“After construction is completed, we will have a meeting room that holds up to 50 people for speakers and workshops,” Ross said. “It’s going to make it easier to accommodate everyone.”
The center has been called an economic engine for the area because it brings people here who spend money on lodging, food and gas. Ross said in the past year, 1,600 people visited the center from out of state, and the facility has an average yearly increase in visitors of 626, which bodes well for the businesses those people patronize.
Many people may not realize how much the center contributes to business in the area, Stone said.
Through the business brought to the area by visitors who need lodging, gas and food, the center will benefit everyone in Henry County and Martinsville, he added.
More than $600,000 was raised by the center, and the Harvest Foundation contributed $200,000 for the addition, Ross said. She added that the building committee will continue to raise funds throughout the construction to cover unexpected costs. |
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