WORTHINGTON – Plans to move the Nobles County Historical Society Museum into the Worthington Armory building will now move forward after the Nobles County Board of Commissioners gave its final OK to the project at its Tuesday meeting.
The NCHS Board of Directors had signed the agreement during its June meeting. The document outlines a plan for the NCHS to purchase the former Armory building, located at Third Avenue and Ninth Street, in a contract-for-deed type arrangement, with the transfer of ownership taking place in five years, in the summer of 2024.
However, the agreement allows the NCHS to begin renovations of the building almost immediately, with initial construction activities slated to begin sometime in August if all goes according to plan.
“The historical society is excited to get this project going,” said NCHS President Art Frame. “Not only will it give us ample space to continue the NCHS’ mission of preserving and interpreting our county’s history, but it will also give purpose to a historical building that might otherwise be torn down.”
Nobles County purchased the Armory — which dates to 1923 — in May 2015 as a potential location for a new county library. After study and analysis of the 26,000-square-foot structure, it was deemed not suitable for a new library facility. The county board also considered relocation of both the NCHS and Nobles County Art Center to the property and plans for such were developed, but the price tag was prohibitive for the county and the involved organizations .
The prospect of moving just the NCHS into the historic Armory became a realistic possibility when Bob and Pat Ludlow of Worthington pledged $1 million to the project. Offered as a “matching” donation, it leveraged additional monies from the county and city toward the project.
The NCHS has also secured several grants to lay the groundwork for the museum and is applying for more to help fund the required environmental systems for three distinct phases of the project. Additionally, a fundraising campaign will be launched in the near future to supplement those already pledged monies.
The Nobles County Historical Society is currently located in the basement of the War Memorial Building, 407 12th St., which also houses the Nobles County Library and Nobles County Art Center. All three entities have dealt with a severe lack of space for many years. Currently, the museum has minimal display space since the majority of its area is devoted to storage of the society’s accumulated artifacts.
