Grand Opening of Dry Ridge Museum - TribPapers
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Grand Opening of Dry Ridge Museum

People get their first viewing of the new museum.

Weaverville – More than 50 people came out Saturday morning (Sept 25) for the opening of the Dry Ridge Museum at the new Community Center at Dottie Sherrill Knoll in Weaverville. This is the first time since the museum lost its 36-year-old home at the Weaverville Library in 2019 that it has a new home and can display its collections of historical artifacts and documents. 

The grand opening ceremony began with an invocation from Weaverville First Baptist Pastor Dr. Stuart Lampkin followed by short comments from several others, including Weaverville Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons, Lou Accornero and Albert Weaver III. This was accompanied by a trumpet playing “This Land is Your Land” and the reciting of the poem “Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.

Jan Lawrence, Chairperson of the Dry Ridge Museum, then offered comments in regards to the volunteers, the contributors and the donors to the project.

“In 1981 the Jacob Weaver House was sold and for the first time was no longer owned by a Weaver,” said Lawrence, who is a Weaver descendant. “Much of the belongings had been dispersed. What could be done with what was left? A wonderful lady, Neil Pickens, the town librarian, had begun a collection of artifacts before her death in 1962. A small band of history-minded people decided to take ‘the road less traveled’ and create a museum.”

Lawrence continued saying how much she appreciated the town-making room for the museum and all the hard work the volunteers had put into the effort of making the museum’s new home a reality, along with those who donated artifacts to the exhibit. She recognized many by calling their names and asking them to stand and a few with gives of pottery. 

She then had members of Boy Scout Troop 15 cut the ribbon and people flowed into the new museum to see it for the first time.

As people flocked in to see the “hard work” Lawrence talked about, it is worth mentioning that there will be 16 new volunteers to staff the museum, which will allow it to be open four days a week