It has been many years now since the Chapel Hill Town Council closed the Chapel Hill Museum.
I voted against that. After that vote, I had so many citizens in town, and around the region actually, tell me how sad they were that the museum closed.
The museum used to be in the old Chapel Hill Public Library building on E. Franklin Street. That building needed a good deal of repair and work. It still does.
It’s time to bring the Chapel Hill Museum back. It’s hard for me to believe that a town as historic as Chapel Hill does not have its own museum now.
Just for Chapel Hill.
Not to be overshadowed by UNC, but just for the town. Our town is going through great change. It is pretty obvious when you drive along the west part of Franklin Street to the east.
A lot of development is changing our town and with that change comes more people, new and different businesses, etc.
How can we know where we are going if we don’t know and appreciate where we’ve been?
We should have a unique place, a permanent space. Not just a display in the library, for instance. But, a museum space all of its own. Where the history of the town of Chapel Hill, written, and by artifacts and exhibits, is on display for the public to appreciate.
I am proud of our town today and I look forward to the future. Why not preserve the memories at the same time? I would love the council, along with the assistance of other stakeholders such as the Visitor’s Bureau, to discuss this and form a committee to explore a brand-new museum for the town of Chapel Hill.
Funding mechanisms would be explored, getting back the old exhibits and talking new ones, and the location of the museum.
What an important treasure to bring back to Chapel Hill.
A Chapel Hill museum.
— Laurin Easthom
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