Update: Westville will move to Columbus if Council OKs agreement

Westville, the living history museum that has been a fixture in Lumpkin, Ga., for almost half a century, will move to Columbus if Columbus Council approves an agreement between the museum and the city.

The facility would be located on 35 acres off South Lumpkin Road just south of the Oxbow Meadows Environmental Center, according to city documents.

The agreement would convey 35 acres to Westville for the historic buildings and exhibits and parking. The land, the former site of the Orchard Grove Mobile Home Park, is just south of Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center. The agreement includes a reversionary clause that ensures that if the land is no longer used as the living museum, it would revert to the city.

The city would also lease about 11 acres to Westville for an RV park and camping area that will be sublet to a for-profit entity to operate. The lease would be for $1,200 a year for three years, to be renegotiated afterward. In addition to the lease fees, this tract would be returned to the city’s property tax roles because it would be operated by a for-profit entity.

A third tract, which includes Wren Lake, once the proposed site for a marina, would be operated and maintained as a recreational facility by Westville at no cost to the city. Should an economic development project, such as a marina, be planned for the third tract, Westville would have six months to vacate the property.

City Manager Isaiah Hugley, who will bring the proposal to Council today, said the city has been working with Westville for more than a year to work out a deal to bring the attraction to Columbus. Westville would be a good addition to the amenities already along the South Lumpkin Road corridor and a good use for land that is sitting unused, Hugley said.

“We think it will be good for Columbus, it will be good for them. It’s a win-win for us all,” Hugley said. “We’re excited about it, they’re excited about it and we hope the community will get excited about it because it’s really an economic development opportunity for us all.”

The news of Westville’s departure isn’t being received as well down in Lumpkin, if you ask Mayor Charles Gibson.

“It’s definitely a sad occasion,” Gibson said. “It’s one of the tourist attractions that brings people into our small town. We as a community have done as much as we can to see how we can help keep the attraction here, but it might not be enough.”

Gibson said having Westville in Lumpkin has been a point of pride for the city, but more with the older residents than the younger ones.

“More for the middle-aged to the elderly, it is a point of pride,” he said. “But for the younger ones, I don’t believe they see the benefits that Westville brings to this town.”

Westville has been in Lumpkin for 47 years, but has in recent years been unable to attract enough visitors to financially support the site. Attendance at Westville has been steadily declining since it peaked at almost 50,000 visitors in the late 1980s, Executive Director Leo Goodsell told the Ledger-Enquirer earlier this year. Due to economy, schools scheduling fewer field trips and other factors, attendance fell to only about 13,000 last year.

Goodsell declined to comment Monday on the move, saying he would rather comment after Council votes today.

Westville would be responsible for all funding for moving 30 period structures to Columbus, which the city expects to take about two years to complete.

This story was originally published August 12, 2013 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Update: Westville will move to Columbus if Council OKs agreement."