PRESCOTT – It was coffee time at the Nevada County Depot and Museum Tuesday morning.
Heather Shelman, curator, said she’s been working on ways to increase the visitor count and make people aware of not only the museum, but the historical significance of Prescott, Nevada County and the surrounding area. She said 90 percent of the visitors aren’t familiar with Prescott and the area, which gives her a chance to enlighten and inform them about the region. She’s also increased the museum’s website, added it to google, with several keywords, and social media. The museum, Shelman said, has free coffee for visitors and clean bathrooms.
Some of the things she’s working on include: Pioneer Day for Kida, where children will learn to make butter, about life in a wagon train and enjoy historically accurate food; Genealogy Research; Student Depot Days, these will be themed days geared toward history and science and will be held for home-schooled students or school field trips; Love Language: The Art of the Fan, as fans were used to deliver secret messages, along with gloves, and parasols; and Caboose tours.
Projects being worked on include: painting the interior walls; updating the handicap walkway; soft washing the depot’s exterior; adding concrete to a low water bridge at Prairie D’Ane; adding ditches to roads at Prairie D’Ane; storage container for Prairie D’Ane; level parking at Prairie D’Ane; and leveling the caboose.
“This is a wonderful museum,” she said, “and we’re working on the battlefields.”
The carpet in the depot had to be removed as 750,000 gallons of water came in over a two year period. When the carpet was removed, it was full of black mold. A new floor was installed. Shelman said that was a good time to redo everything as all the displays had to be removed while the new floor was being installed. Now, the interior has a cleaner look, with the displays easier to view.
