Historic Westville village entering final stretch of preparation for Columbus debut

Its original October opening date pushed back several months by persistently rainy weather, the living-history village Historic Westville is now entering a final stretch of preparation for its ultimate debut off South Lumpkin Road in Columbus.

“I’m going to step forward and say that we’re 85 percent there,” Historic Westville Executive Director Allen Sistrunk said Thursday. “We have to move all the furniture and collections into the houses, but we’re delayed on that because of finishing up the punch list from the construction.”

The furniture and other items that will be used to bring the collection of 17 historic buildings to life as an interpretive center chronicling the 1850s period of south Georgia are stored in a warehouse on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. They all are insured, he said.

Moved from the previous home of Historic Westville in Lumpkin, Ga., about 35 miles south of Columbus, they now await transfer to the farmhouses, courthouse, church and other structures that now stand on the 35 acres in south Columbus. The site is within a short stroll or bicycle ride to the National Infantry Museum and Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center.

Asked for an approximate date for its future opening, Sistrunk, a Columbus native who has been director for three months, coming from Mounts Botanical Garden in Palm Beach, Fla., hedged on specifics.

“It’s like a bow and arrow shooting at a target and you’re blindfolded. It’s really arduous to pin down a date and I would be afraid to commit to a date. But we’re continuing to say late spring,” he said, which sets up a fuzzy target of sometime in May.

The final details

Sistrunk noted that sometimes it’s the final details that take the longest on a major project such as moving an entire living-history village from one community to another, then positioning each building just right to optimize the experience of visitors.

That includes special roads that are being built using native red-clay Georgia soil mixed with a special glue-like polymer. That’s to accommodate a fire code directive that will allow an 80,000-pound emergency vehicle to move throughout the village made mostly of wood boards, siding and shingles.

Sistrunk said the road material is porous so that when heavy rains descend on the Columbus area, it penetrates into the ground more easily rather than creating slogs of mud. An extensive system of drainage ports also have installed throughout the village, which should help prevent standing water.

He praised the general contractor, Thayer-Bray Construction, for taking on such a unique project and making everything work. Aaron & Clements is the Columbus-based construction management firm that has overseen the relocation of Historic Westville to Columbus.

“It’s amazing at having been out there after some of the deluges we’ve had over the past couple of months, the site is dry,” he said. “It’s also going to make the experience of the visitors so much more special to see the south Georgia red clay roads. The original intent was asphalt, and thank goodness somebody before my tenure here put that to bed and we came up with this polymer idea.”

What to expect

The history of the village of Westville starts with its opening in 1966 in Lumpkin, with it receiving various buildings from Jonesboro, Ga., and growing to encompass nearly three dozen structures on 80 acres. The cost of the move to Columbus, funded by a capital campaign, is $9.5 million.

Being developed in four phases, Historic Westville in Columbus will include the traditional 1850s-era village, a Creek Indian settlement, a rural plantation farm, a frontier settlement and an interpretive center to include entertainment.

With its Columbus debut not far off, Sistrunk said a search for volunteers will begin next week. Those people will be critical in support of a “minimal staff” initially of 15 full-time employees and seven to 10 interpreters.

The grounds will include a large parking lot with a museum shop, as well as a heat-and-serve food operation that will serve items such as sandwiches, potato chips, candy and beverages. There also are plans to install native trees and shrubs along South Lumpkin Road to beautify Westville and help buffer it from vehicle traffic.

“I want tell all of the people that live in Columbus and any of the surrounding counties that we really appreciate their patience and supporting us as we get this operation up and running,” Sistrunk said. “We can promise that it’s going to be something very, very special for the Chattahoochee Valley area, and something that they’ve really never seen in our area.”

Area residents, commenting on Westville’s Facebook page, say they are ready to experience the 1850s-era village and all of its live history lessons in its new home.

“I have grown up going to Westville, first with my elementary class when I was young and as an adult taking my own children to visit,” said Regan Buck Coppedge. “It’s a special place and I’m grateful for the preservation that is happening. I can’t wait to visit the new site.”

Said Beate Maxwell: I cannot wait for it to be finished. Awesome location … Westville will be able to grow since we have growing tourism in Columbus. Keep up the good work. You are appreciated.”