White County Museum Receives $30,500 For Handicap Accessibility

The White County Museum will use a new grant to make the building more handicapped accessible.

The $30,500 grant will be used to make changes to the entrance and bathrooms to grant access to those with walkers and wheelchairs. Co-director Peggy Hurteau said the doors are too narrow and there is a bump at the bottom of the door frame that makes wheelchair access difficult. She said the current bathrooms are too small.

“Instead of having one nice big bathroom here, there are two small ones, and there almost impossible for a wheelchair to get in or somebody with a walker,” Hurteau said. “So that was our goal was to make this more accessible for the people we have coming here.”

Hurteau said the work can be done on the days the museum is closed so the renovation will not impact hours. The grant specifies work must be done by September, 2024.

“The doors they can do now. We have a gentlemen who gave us the estimate on the door,” Hurteau said. “We’re going to get him started on that right away. The restrooms can be at their will when they think they can get here and work on it, but by being indoors they should be able to do that throughout the winter even. So we’re hoping to get started right away.”

Hurteau said making the museum handicap friendly will bring in more visitors.

“It’s going to make it easier for people who say well I like to go to the museum, but I don’t, you know,” Hurteau said. “I’m in this wheelchair I don’t know if I can get in. It’s going to be unhandy. I think we’re going to bring a lot more people in.”

The museum is open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. She said she is excited to bring in new guests to share White County history.

“Probably the most expensive item and the one we had to work really hard to get was we have General George Dibrell’s revolver when they surrendered in Washington, Georgia at the end of the Civil War,” Hurteau said.

Dibrell was a prominent politician and general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He was from White County.