Fabrication Plans at Underground Railroad Museum Take Shape
MORRISTOWN – Representatives from COSI and Firewatch Design visited the Black Horse Inn site last Tuesday to tour restoration progress and begin planning exhibits, visitor experiences and installation work for the future Underground Railroad Museum at the Black Horse Inn in Morristown.
Members of the Akron-Summit County Historical Society also toured the building. That organization is working with the county tourism office to curate artifacts currently housed at the Flushing museum. They will select pieces from the collection that help tell the chronological history of slavery from the African slave trade through the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad.
Belmont County Tourism Council executive director Jackee Pugh said building restoration work is on schedule for completion by October. Federal grant funding under the Appalachian Community Grant program must be spent by that time.
“This is such an amazing Belmont County asset. The rich history of the Underground Railroad, the Quaker population, the abolitionists that helped freedom seekers from Virginia get to freedom here in Ohio,” Pugh said. “We’re able to embody that and create this amazing museum for visitors and our residents to learn that part of history.”
Representatives from COSI and Firewatch Design work together for the planning of exhibits at the Underground Railroad Museum at the Black Horse Inn in Morristown. ©Barnesville Area News Company Photos.
COSI project manager Kelly Kinzig said this was their first site visit visit for her team.
“We’re super excited to see the actual building, because we’ve been seeing a lot of drawings about what it will look like, and what our builds are going to look like, but it’s really nice to see the space that it’s going into,” she said.
COSI, the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, will fabricate and install the museum exhibits, including display cases, shelving and interactive components.
“We believe that science is everywhere and science is for everyone, so this project really aligns with our mission,” she said. “We are really excited to be able to bring our talented fabrication team to create the new site here in Morristown.”
Exhibit installation is scheduled for August.
Firewatch Design project lead Kirsten Mikula also visited the site for the first time. The company is serving as fabricator and installer for the museum’s design elements, including exhibit structures, wall coverings, interpretive panels, technology components and interactive displays.
“It’s really cool to learn about the local connections and the stories,” she said. “ I’m really excited for the impact that it’s going to have on the community.”
Belmont County Commissioner J.P. Dutton said the scale of collaboration behind the project is incredible.
“This thing is going to be an amazing tourism location, not only for Belmont County, but also for the state of Ohio,” he said.
“That’s the indication we’re getting at the state level. When this project is complete, and it fits into Ohio’s tourism assets, I think it’s just going to be tremendous.”
John Mattox Jr., chairman of the board and son of Dr. John Mattox, late curator and founder of the Underground Railroad Museum, toured the building.
Mattox Jr. spoke about how the museum and its new home at the Black Horse Inn came together because of community support and the legacy of his parents. His father dreamed of and worked on preserving this history for years.
Mattox Jr. views himself as someone carrying his parents’ legacy forward. He noted that his parents believed in bringing people together through conversations about history, race and differences. He said they focused on the shared history and common humanity instead of division.
The museum originally began in Dr. Mattox’s Flushing insurance office before moving to its current Flushing location, a former bank building.
“I will echo what a lot of people say to me, ‘Your mom and dad are smiling down from heaven, very amazed at this …,’ ” Mattox Jr. said. “I think that just goes to demonstrate how a little bit of tenderness and treating other people with respect and dignity can go in keeping the community together, instead of dividing us.”
More information about the Underground Railroad Museum’s planned opening at the Black Horse Inn may be read here.
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