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Civil War museum leaving Spotsylvania for the city
Civil War Life Museum will leave Spotsylvania County for a location in Fredericksburg
Date published: 11/4/2009
By DAN TELVOCK Spotsylvania County is about to lose its only Civil War museum. Terry Thomann, director of the Civil War Life museum, said yesterday that he plans to close the attraction in the Southpoint I center and in two weeks open a store at 829 Caroline St., in Fredericksburg to sell Civil War-related books, souvenirs, T-shirts and gifts. He plans to eventually open a full-scale museum for his Civil War artifacts and a research center in the city by 2011, to replace his facility in the Spotsylvania Visitors Center off U.S. 1 near Massaponax. The Civil War Life Museum's move comes almost two years after Thomann created a nonprofit foundation in hopes of raising $12 million for a new museum at the W.J. Vakos Courthouse Village development. Thomann said the foundation will continue to raise money for the museum in the city. "The support that we had anticipated and expected from the county for the new museum just really never materialized," Thomann said. "All we ever heard was 'Well, we don't have any money.' A project like this really requires some community involvement." Vakos said yesterday that he is disappointed with Thomann's decision, but he hopes to partner with the county to lure another museum to his development at Spotsylvania Courthouse. Thomann's decision could open the door for This summer, the Richmond-based Museum of the Confederacy announced it was looking at space in Fredericksburg after plans to build near or on the Chancellorsville battlefield in Spotsylvania didn't gain much steam. Rawls said this summer that he is focusing on a satellite museum at Appomattox, and then he will look at options in Fredericksburg and Fort Monroe. He said building a museum in Spotsylvania County was still an option. Supervisor Hap Connors was surprised that Thomann had already made a decision. He said the county for eight years paid the rent for Thomann's museum at the Visitors Center, including $61,995 this fiscal year.
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 11/4/2009
What a scam
(posted by
EGW1
, Nov. 4, 2009 10:57 am)
this guy is milking the system on both ends, I hope he is made to give that grant money back, and rent money to the County. People taxes went to pay his rent. I agree he probably got the grant money on county or state endorsements. Now he is moving on to Fredericksburg to try to milk us. Should be run out of town. Again Fredericksburg has a state of the art museum we don't need another one. Looks like he is just trying to get money from anywhere.
the county has wonderful possibilities in
(posted by
larryg
, Nov. 4, 2009 10:17 am)
building bike/ped paths from the Vakos property to the
Bloody Angle Battlefield.
A business located there could rent bikes or even Golf Cart
type vehicles to visit the park then return for food &
beverages.
This guy got a 150K grant from the Feds?
I wonder if that grant required local govt endorsements?
Unbelievable
(posted by
EGW1
, Nov. 4, 2009 9:48 am)
He needs to give the County back their money for carrying him for so long, and then he turns and back stabs them. Money is hard to come by now, they were paying his rent for years, so he is mad. Now he runs to Fredericksburg, we don't need another money pit to raise taxes, and there is a wonderful museum already here, what is he talking about.
He needs to crawl back into the hole he came out of.
To tpifos....
(posted by
hapconnors
, Nov. 4, 2009 9:27 am)
We are reviewing the agreement, which goes back about 10 years. There were verbal agreements with past Boards and MOUs, and up until yesterday, those agreements were being carried out at least by the county and Vakos. I can't control what Mr. Thomann does or doesn't do, and because I think he is an honorable man, I am surprised - and disappointed. And we'll deal with the City. I think someone owes us that back subsidy, and I am going to try hard to recoup it.
Spotsy BOS know how to waste taxpayers' monies.
(posted by
RivaPops
, Nov. 4, 2009 9:07 am)
If you want to go with a sure thing, why doesn't the BOS open a House of Ill Repute, then run it by hand until it shows a profit. That way you could cut taxes to the homeowners that are paying for your wasteful ways! Bet you'd still have to do a study though!
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