Military museum in need of attention

Jul. 15—If all goes as planned, the Military Memorial Museum will feature a new display on Main St. in the form of a donated naval projectile from the USS Iowa class of battleships.

And, a restoration organization located just down the road will assist local officials in developing a plan to renovate and restore the county building that houses military artifacts with local connections.

Lauchin (Locke) Kelly, a retired naval officer living in the county who serves on the museum's voluntary board, appeared before the Cumberland County Commission's Buildings and Grounds Committee last week to discuss the donation and building needs.

An organization based in Huntsville, AL, has offered to donate the 16-by-72-inch projectile for display in front of the museum. What the museum board needed from the committee was permission to remove a couple of trees from the front of the building to make a space for the display.

Kelly said that trees — or bushes — "are nothing special" and suffer from disease and poor location.

"I would not have put them there to begin with," he said.

Greg Upchurch of the county's UT Extension Office assessed the trees for the museum's board and noted the existence of secondary root structures often caused by trees being planted too shallow, Kelly continued.

It is proposed the trees be removed along with boxwoods that show signs of stress and a pad installed to hold the projectile. Visitors would be able to walk up to the projectile, touch it and it is envisioned it would be the background for many photos by visitors.

The museum will bear the cost of moving the projectile from Huntsville to Crossville and will work with the county to design an appropriate plaque.

"This would be eye-catching and low maintenance and liability," Kelly told the committee.

On motion by Commissioner Jim Blalock, the committee approved removal of the trees and shrubs and installation of the pad for the display.

Second issue discussed with the committee was the present condition of the county-owned building. Located across Main St. from the present-day courthouse, the museum building was the second courthouse in the county and served as the first county high school and later board of education office.

The interior was gutted by fire in 1905 and rebuilt at some point later.

At present, Kelly said, the upstairs floor is not open to the public because of safety concerns. There are approximately 3,000 donated books housed in the upper level that the public does not have access.

A motion by Commissioner Chad Norris granting use of empty office space in the bottom floor of the courthouse — formerly used by the election commission office for storage — was approved.

Plans are for the eventual transfer of the books to the county's archives building. It is hoped the books can be cataloged and featured in a reading room for the public's use.

Kelly also noted that the heating and air conditioning system is "old and fragile" and requires frequent maintenance.

Contact was made with the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University. That group assists with the restoration of public buildings around the county.

"They are familiar with the building and think it is a historic gem," Kelly told the committee. A meeting is scheduled for this week at which time restoration ideas and possible grant sources are expected to be discussed. "At the end of the day, we would like to see this building become a real shining star on Main St.," said Kelly.

Commissioner Nancy Hyder described the proposal as a "win-win" situation and made the motion to allow the museum's board pursue grant funding for the purpose of restoring the building to its original look and to do the needed renovations.

Kelly told the committee the museum's board is anxious to work with the county in securing the needed improvements and will be returning with a report from the meeting with the Center for Historic Preservation at a later date.

Michael Moser may be reached at mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com