Historical Museum to open in Sparta

Despite earlier plans that went awry, an Alleghany County Historical Museum will be opening soon on North Main Street.

The museum will be at the intersection of Main and Whitehead streets (U.S. 21 and N.C. 18) and will share a common entrance with Imaging Specialists (The Sparta Store).

According to an article being prepared for the Historical and Genealogical Society newsletter, the space at 7 N. Main St. encompasses some 1,200 square feet, of which about 1,000 will be used for displays and the remainder for storage.

Alleghany Historical-Genealogical Society Museum Committee Chairman Pauline Jolly said Monday that she and the other local residents have been working toward having a museum for over 30 years. Long-time members who remain active include Jolly, Mildred Torney, Irene Wagner, June Zimmerman, Lou Reed Landreth and Marvie Shelor. Those who are still members, but haven't been active in attending meetings in several years, include Lorine Sturgill, Wilma Foster and Elvira Crouse.

Jolly gives a large amount of the credit for the successful effort partially to Torney and partially to an infusion of new members in recent years.

"Mildred really was the very one that pushed to have this Historical Society," Jolly said, adding that Torney also has been indefatigable at pushing for a museum location. She also noted that many of the Society's members were getting older and that the addition of

Jeff Halsey and Roy Hunt to the group gave them new life. Several locations had been looked out through the years, Jolly noted. "Our dream was to have an old house," she said. "We tried to get the Crouse House and we couldn't get it." As for the current location, Jolly said she was very pleased to have a place to start in such a noticeable location on Main Street in Sparta.

The building, owned by Carl Dean Edwards, is one of the oldest buildings in town, according to Halsey. Barring unforeseen problems, the museum should be open by the Mountain Heritage Festival on Sept. 18, Halsey said, noting that he was being more cautious with his estimate after earlier expecting to have a museum open in June.

That earlier effort to locate a museum in the manse at Sparta Presbyterian Church was thwarted by handicapped accessibility issues. Halsey said the new location meets most of the criteria that the society had set when looking for a space, including having a large window for displays, open space for more display options, ample security, an old-timey atmosphere in a historical building, central air and being ready to move into.

He noted that a small window display inside the building already has been drawing attention.