Long-discussed plans to save the former Arsenal Museum's homeless artifact collection have begun to solidify in the form of repurposing currently vacant space at the new 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."

The Island Packet has a solid report on the plan; read it here.

As to why city hall just happens to have 3,500 extra square feet of space, remember that the building was built because the last city hall was far too small and the new one was built with growth in mind.

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