Update: Council OKs agreement for Westville to move to Columbus

After 47 years as a tourism staple in Lumpkin, Ga., Historic Westville, the 1850s-era living museum, will soon pack up and move to south Columbus.

Columbus Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an agreement that will cede 35 acres next to the Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center to Westville for the village, exhibits, visitors center and parking. Just to the south, an RV park and campground will be operated by a for-profit entity and Westville will operate and maintain an adjacent public recreational area that includes 20-acre Wren Lake.

The land is being given to Westville, but with a reversionary clause that stipulates that should Westville close or move, the land would revert to the city.

“It’s a great move for Westville and for Columbus as well,” Mayor Teresa Tomlinson said. “Westville’s going to have a lot more traffic in this particular location. Columbus has always supported Westville so I think it’s a great way to preserve the legacy. We’re very excited about it.”

Leo Goodsell, executive director of Westville, said he expects their current rate of about 12,000-13,000 visitors a year to double or triple in the first year alone. Plans are also being developed to expand the scope of the historic attraction.

“I think this is a tremendous opportunity for Westville. Not only are we moving an historic village to Columbus to a large tract of land, this will allow us to grow and become more than what Westville has been in the past,” Goodsell said. “We’ve always been an1850s village. On the new location, we will also have a pioneer village area, a working farmstead area and a Native American area, so we can interpret four key areas of Georgia history at one time instead of just one.

Goodsell said they will contract with building moving experts to move the structures by truck. Smaller building will be moved in one piece, he said, while larger ones will have to be taken apart into smaller pieces, then reassembled at the new site and placed on new footings and piers.

Mike Dunn, chairman of the Westville board of trustees, said the move will cost an estimated $5.5 million, which the board plans to raise through a capital campaign. That total includes all costs, from site preparation, moving buildings, installing utilities and necessary structures.

Dunn said the contract with the city calls for the move to be done in two years, but a specific timeline for starting the work will depend on the initial success of the capital campaign. He said some donors have been contacted, but declined to identify them at this point.

Leaving Westville’s long-time home was a tough decision to make, but a necessary one, Dunn said.

“We have appreciated being a part of the community for as long as we have. The citizens of Stewart County, Lumpkin and the surrounding area have been vital for continuing Westville’s existence for several decades now,” Dunn said. “But if we attempted to stay in Lumpkin, we simply would not be able to survive. It’s a tough choice.”

This story was originally published August 13, 2013 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Update: Council OKs agreement for Westville to move to Columbus."