With its annual fundraising gala set for next week, the Lexington County Museum looks to maintain momentum and move toward grounds improvements.

The county-owned museum has set its sights on a strategic plan that could potentially lead to changes to the museum complex, which is made up of about 30 historic houses and other buildings near downtown Lexington. Established in 1970, the museum has also accrued numerous artifacts over the years.

Museum Director J.R. Fennelll, museum director, said it’s in the process of setting a strategic plan which is likely to incorporate the addition of an environmentally controlled storage space, which would allow it to safely store artifacts and stop them from deteriorating as quickly and help prevent them from being harmed by pests.

Fennelll told the Chronicle that the museum will continue what they are doing in terms of interpreting the diverse history of the county, doing what it can to include underrepresented groups, and continuing to work toward a closer relationship with the African-American community.

The director added that he is part of a group called the Community Remembrance Program, which looks to bring attention to acts of racial violence in the country’s history.

“Preserving history is very important because …it's important to know where we came from,” Fennelll said. “I do think that situations change, but we can learn from our history. We can learn from our mistakes, hopefully, but I think it's important to know where we came from.”

The majority of the museum's 16,000 annual guests come from schools, he said, and since the COVID-19 pandemic, it hasn’t had as many school trips coming through. He wants to build relationships with the new teachers in the county given recent turnover.

Funding for the museum mainly comes from the county, which provides employee salaries,  insurance for the buildings and artifacts, ground maintenance, and help with building maintenance..

The museum itself opened in August 1970, keyed by the Madden family donating the John Fox House and Grover Corley donating many artifacts from his personal collection.

Since opening, the museum has gathered hundreds of artifacts and its roughly 30 buildings, with a fair amount of the structures having to be moved there. According to Fennelll, the last time buildings were moved to the museum grounds was in 2003 and 2005.

Located in the heart of Lexington, the museum has seen the development of the area firsthand, with Fennell saying that the county’s growth helped shape the acreage of the museum, calling it a testament to how the area has changed over the years.

Fennell told the Chronicle that he believes it is more environmentally friendly to preserve a structure than tear it down.

“It helps create a sense of community and keeps the character of the community,” he said.

The annual Friends of the Lexington County Museum’s fundraising gala takes place Feb. 16 at the Lexington Municipal Complex (111 Maiden Ln.) from 6 to 10 p.m., celebrating the history of the Dreher Shoals Dam and Lake Murray. Tickets start at $60 and can be purchased at lexingtoncountymuseum.org.