TheDigitel
As was hoped for, the former Arsenal Museum's homeless artifact collection have found a new 3,500-foot home as the Beaufort History Museum at Beaufort City Hall.
A May 2010 report by Dave Smoot of the Parris Island Museum described the collection as, "Leather items were moldy. Paper items were reacting negatively to the presence of acids in and around the paper. Wooden items were dry and splitting. Clothing was dried out, rotten, soiled and eaten by vermin. Ferrous items rusted some to the point where they could not be identified without them crumbling to pieces."
But all that started to change once the stars aligned with city hall's 3,500 extra square feet of space and volunteers went to work, salvaging the collection and readying new exhibits.
"We have completed the task of working with the collection of artifacts that belongs to the City of Beaufort , culling objects that either have no historic merit or are beyond repair, and setting aside others for restoration", the group says on their new website. "Expert South Carolina archeologists and historians have examined the collection."
And now the group will host a grand opening on Saturday, May 19, from 1 to 3 p.m.
After that the museum will open for regular hours from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. Admission will be free during the first few weeks.
