Wielding the ceremonial shovel, longtime Garland County Historical Society volunteer Orval Allbritton officially broke ground Friday morning on the planned expansion to the society's archives building at 328 Quapaw Ave.
"I don't think there is anyone that symbolizes the Garland County Historical Society or for that matter Garland County history in general more than Orville Allbritton," GCHS President Gary Jackson said in introducing him. "That's why we selected him to have the honor of turning the first spade of dirt."
The author of six books about local history, Allbritton "personifies dedication to local history," Jackson said. A crowd of GCHS board members and volunteers, city and county officials and members of the board of the Oaklawn Foundation, which recently awarded the society a $200,000 construction grant, were on hand for Friday's ceremony.
After 57 years of dedicated historical archiving, the society ran out of room to house and preserve its collections, a news release said, prompting it to expand the current 3,400-square-foot facility by 1,500 square feet. The expansion will include more archival storage space with movable shelving, a larger reading/research room, and a clean, state-of-the-art fire-suppression system for archival areas "designed to safeguard irreplaceable historic materials."
"There is quite a lot of work to do," said the project contractor, Bruce Cozart, a state representative whose private construction company is handling the work. "We are waiting on the final plan to get started, but hope to start next week. We were supposed to start Sept. 4, but the plans were not final."
Cozart said they will start excavating first and removing the pillars from the side of the building facing Bolton Street. He noted they had already moved an underground gas line and plan to remove a nonoperational light pole near the street.
"We're ready. It's been beautiful weather for the last two weeks and I'm hoping it stays that way," he said, noting the project should be completed by March or early April at the latest "if everything works out."
Elizabeth Robbins, GCHS executive director, said the society will remain open during construction, but may have to close for a week or two in January for some interior work. She noted the front parking lot will remain open, but the auxiliary parking lot up the hill will be closed for use by the construction company.
She said the expansion was "thanks to the efforts of so many wonderful people" especially the Oaklawn Foundation and "the wonderful generosity and public service commitment of your board." She also thanked David French, the project architect, for "his generous donation of the building plan," the GCHS board and members of its building committee.
While the Oaklawn Foundation grant funded much of the construction, Robbins said, "We're reaching out to the community for tax-deductible donations to help raise the rest of the funds needed."
The society will acknowledge all donors in next year's issue of its journal, The Record. Those who give $250 or more, $1,000 or more, or $5,000 or more will have pavers and plaques installed at the archives.
Call 501-321-2159, email [email protected], or visit the archives at 328 Quapaw for more information.
Local on 09/16/2017