1736 Magazine - Vision for the Future

the McDuffie Museum in Thomson.
Through individual donations and
grants from local and state foundations,
about $600,000 so far has
been spent toward transforming the
two buildings into a museum.
Donations have ranged in size
from $25,000 to a woman’s sincere
check for $2, Weinstein said.
“We had a booth at Arts in the
Heart two years ago and people
came by and said, ‘Where is it? We
want to go see it.’ ”
The first visitors are expected to
see the museum’s Education Center,
which will be housed in the old court
building, built in the 1860s as one of
the city’s first “fireproof” buildings
to house public records. Carpeting
was expected to be completed by
the end of January, but the court’s
original floor is expected to be preserved
also.
Other interior renovations are onschedule
to accommodate an opening
by July 1, Weinstein said. The
museum is being planned around
four educational pillars: Holocaust
remembrance; Jewish heritage and
traditions; the nation of Israel; and
Jewish contributions to the Augusta
area.
Jewish tradition, and the local
business leaders who embraced
it, “really is an important part of
Augusta,” Weinstein said. “Downtown
wouldn’t have been developed
The James Brown exhibit at the Augusta
Museum of History gives fans a taste of
the man and his music. The museum is
looking to expand the space dedicated
to Brown’s life in order to include
more items that are in storage. [JACKIE
RICCIARDI/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]
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