ROCKINGHAM — The history of Richmond County was literally on display Friday night during the Richmond County Tourism Development Authority’s soft opening of the new county museum.
Tourism Director Kelly Pruett said she invited folks who have contributed to the museum and the tourism board in order to give them the first look at the exhibits to see how their treasures have been displayed.
With new cases installed two weeks ago, the museum has a modern look to it with historical artifacts inside from around Richmond County. They include everything from motorsports at the Rockingham Dragway and North Carolina Speedway, the Hamlet Hospital and prominent families to education, textiles, agriculture and — of course — railroad memorabilia.
“Basically, my concept was to make it belong to the people, the Richmond County Museum designed and developed by the people,” Pruett said in December.
That’s exactly what was achieved as some of the people who helped to make the museum what it is were on hand Friday night.
Some examples of what visitors will see include items from Richmond County sports figures like former Major League Baseball players Brian Moehler and Billy Harris, former and current NFL players such as Louis Breeden and Dannell Ellerbe and former ABA player Greg Wittman.
Wittman was in attendance Friday night to see some of his memorabilia but also to see other history that Richmond County has to offer. Wittman — who is 6-foot-8 and played at Rockingham High School from 1962-65 — is in the Western Carolina Hall of Fame as the leading rebounder in WCU basketball history. He played three seasons in the American Basketball Association in Denver, Miami and Dallas.
The educational section focuses on the older schools from the county with an emphasis on the four previous high schools — Rockingham, Hamlet, Ellerbe and Rohanen — but also schools before that, such as the Bostick Schoolhouse in Ellerbe.
Although the museum is already chock full of artifacts, Pruett is hoping that once people come in to take a look, they’ll be motivated to find items of their own they can donate.
“Just having had different people from the community come in, they’ve just said Richmond County needed this, and it’s a long-awaited dream,” said Pruett. “I think it’s absolutely turned out great. As folks come in, I hope for them to say, ‘Hey I have this at home. Can I bring it in?’ So it’s gonna grow and grow and grow. My vision was the museum would belong to the people of Richmond County. I hope that when people of the community come in, they’ll see something that they can be a part of.”
The Richmond County Museum is located in the former railroad depot at 101 W. Broad Ave. in Rockingham and will officially open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. For more information on hours of operation or how to donate or loan artifacts, contact Pruett at 910-895-9057 or email [email protected].
Reach reporter Matt Harrelson at 910-817-2674 and follow him on Twitter @mattyharrelson.
