Work Continues on South Central Kentucky Cultural Center
culture, kay harbison, museum of the barrens, schoolroom, south central kentucky cultural center, t.j. samson community hospital,
Slowly but surely‚ the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center is taking shape.
It has been four years since work first began on the three-story center that was formerly known as the Museum of the Barrens‚ and much work is still in progress.
“We are actually housed in the former Kentucky Pants factory that was constructed in the late 1920s‚ so plenty of renovations have been needed‚” says Kay Harbison‚ exhibit committee chairperson at the center. “We have adopted the philosophy of doing quality work as we go‚ so we won’t need to redo exhibits once they are in place. Many exhibits have been started‚ but it takes time for our small staff to bring everything to completion.”
First floor exhibits already available for public viewing include a Paleolithic display that represents prehistoric times in central Kentucky around 12‚000 B.C.‚ and a barn wall displaying old tools that were used prior to 1850. There is also a one-room schoolhouse depicting a classroom of the early 1900s‚ and a walk-through 1850s-era log cabin.
“We get a lot of schoolchildren visiting the center‚ and they are fascinated with the cramped quarters of the old-time log cabin and the schoolhouse‚” Harbison says.
The second floor of the center houses an extensive military display of artifacts and weaponry from the Civil War through Desert Storm‚ as well as a doll collection and a model of Glasgow’s town square as it would have looked in 1900. The third floor features newspapers – including the Glasgow Daily Times – spanning 80 years.
“Exhibits that are currently in progress include a 1950s doctor’s office‚ since the medical field and T.J. Samson Community Hospital have been important parts of our rich history‚” Harbison says. “We are also putting together a Victorian parlor and bedroom setting‚ showing what the homes in Barren County would have looked like during the Victorian period. In addition‚ we are also compiling an exhibit on the history of local city and county government‚ and how politics has affected this area.”
But Harbison insists that the main focus of the center remains “culture.”
“We have rotating gallery exhibitions from artists‚ and we feature banquet and meeting rooms for … catered receptions and dinners‚” Harbison says. “This is going to be a cultural center that the community will be proud of.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Greg Emens
