The Starke County Historical Society is looking to relocate their museum to the area across from the visitor’s center in Knox on U.S. 35, but they’ll need the city’s cooperation in order to do so. Marvin McLaughlin with the Historical Society approached the city council at their meeting Tuesday night with a proposal for a new building to house the museum, but he wasn’t asking for money; rather, McLaughlin said the Historical Society would like to lease the railroad right-of-way.
McLaughlin said the current building that houses the museum is a nice house, but it’s not suited for housing historical items. He said it’s critical that they be able to control the humidity and lighting within the building to prevent any damage to exhibits. Further, the building is too small, preventing them from rotating exhibits.
This would be a win-win situation, according to McLaughlin: the museum would get a nice building and the city would benefit from additional money being spent in the area.
McLaughlin requested the council allow the Historical Society to lease the right-of-way for $1 per year on a 99-year lease, and said they won’t be able to do any fundraising until they have the final word. Mayor Rick Chambers said he’d like to speak to the park board about it first in case they have any plans in the proposed area.
The discussion is expected to continue at the city council’s next meeting on March 25.
