The Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County had a full year in 2023 and they’re looking ahead to the future and what 2024 has in store.
Speaking with Christian Fiscal Court recently, Executive Director Alissa Keller says 2023 had it’s ups and downs for the Museums, including when the Woody Winfree Fire Museum was damaged by severe weather not once but twice—damages they’re still working to repair even now.
Keller is hopeful they’ll have bids back soon and once everything is finalized with the insurance; they’ll be able to get the fire museum back up and operating as normal.
She says they hosted nearly 60 programs for the public during the year, and meticulously went through their inventory, discovering new, exciting artifacts.
The Museum also saw the establishment of a foundation in 2023—the Hopkinsville History Foundation to help support the museums.
Keller invited the community to the unveiling of bell hooks Way on March 1 at the Carnegie Library, and then back to the museum for the reveal of the bell hooks Legacy Room.
The dedication of bell hooks Way, formerly Eighth Street between South Virginia and Clay streets, will take place at 1:30 p.m. The selection of Eighth Street is significant because it is adjacent to the Carnegie Library, which was the main public library in Hopkinsville when Gloria Jean Watkins—who would become bell hooks—was a child.