CENTRE — The Cherokee County Historical Museum is a pillar of the community, a place of remembrance for the history of times gone by. The museum has been collecting artifacts from the community for over 26 years, and it has seen its share of ups and downs. However, one thing that has remained a constant over the years is its lack of proper heating and cooling.

“It gets so hot eight months each year,” said Museum Director David Crum. “Almost no one will visit, and when the few do, they run out the door in a few minutes and jump in their air-conditioned car to recover. It is been such a shame.”

As customers come into the museum, their chief complaint has never been about the way the museum looks, but the temperature inside. From sweating in the summer to freezing during the winter in the upstairs archives, the museum has always been at the whims of the weather. These changes have varying effects, from customer and employee discomfort to severe artifact and record deterioration.

“Extreme heat and cold can very easily damage fragile records and artifacts by making them unstable, and thus susceptible to breakage,” said Curator Kayleigh Last. “It's important to keep an artifact in a controlled environment in order to lengthen the lifespan of the artifact. This is why a museum must protect against the heat, cold, light, and moisture.”

The museum's temperature being controlled by the elements outside will soon be a thing of the past. With approval from the County Commission, the air in the museum will at last be regulated. The commissioners recently approved and contracted Vaughan Heating and Cooling of Leesburg for the job. Work began last week.

To do the job right, Vaughan contracted RT Sheet Metals. After completing the first floor, they will be moving on to the second. After that, the only thing left will be the actual units themselves.

“We will now be comfortable for our visitors, class trips, community meetings, chartered bus tours, birthday parties and more,” Crum said. “Most importantly, the old legal records will now survive into future centuries.”

 To find our more about the museum visit during normal business hours, call 256-927-7835 or visit online at www.museumatcentre.com.