Marsh House has big plans for 2022
Working from the new Strategic Plan for 2036, the 200th anniversary of the House, the Marsh House Board has prioritized some of the shorter and mediumterm goals for 2022.
These goals are listed below:
♦ Reinvigorate the Clayton Bell Scholarship/Internship Program, which has been less active during the past two years of the COVID pandemic. Rising high school seniors or Dalton State students may apply at http:// marshhouseoflafayette.org/ mholwp/wp-content/uploads/ CBS-Application-1-2022. pdf. The coordinator of the program is Virginia Rushing (706-638-7725). Selected participants spend 50 hours in participation in historic preservation, docent/interpreter service and a special project of their choosing.
♦ Continue regular programs, including supporting the Honeybee Festival in June and hosting Heritage Day, the third weekend of September.
♦ Ins tal l prot e c t i v e ultraviolet film on windows in west-facing rooms to prevent further damage from sunlight, and look at what is needed for protecting the cabin, including daubing the cracks between logs to seal out animals.
♦ Work with city and county to get signage to the Marsh House on major turns into LaFayette from federal and state highways.
♦ Look at the budget with the $300/month freed up from the yard contract and seek possible grant funds toward some paid staff to support rotating exhibits and more hours open to the public.
♦ Begin discussions with Back Alley Theatre and other partners about producing the historical drama about the Marsh-Warthen-Allgood family and LaFayette history that Connie Forester has written.
♦ Submit a grant application to the Georgia Civil War Commission for CARES Act funding for museums for the walkway from North Main to Duke Street and correction of drainage on the back lot. Initiate a work group representing the board, the city and the county to bring together resources for this project.
♦ Offer an appreciation event for docents/volunteers.
Other long-range projects toward 2036 include: technology for enhancing exhibits and QR codes on all historical markers for additional information; a reconstructed carriage house with space for staff offices, gift shop, artist studio, horse carriage and stable exhibits; an endowment of $1 million to support a professional director’s salary, exhibits, programs for schools, facilities and furnishings through a planned giving campaign and regular transfers to the endowment fund.
Current board members include David Boyle, Josh Chapman, Connie Forester, Joan Fowler, John Logan, Mary McConnell, Davene Nichols, Fred Peacock, Sharleen Robinson and Jan Shattuck. The Marsh House Museum maybe contacted at http://marshhouseoflafayette. org/, https://www.facebook. com/TheMarshHouseOfLaFayette/ or 706-638-5187.