Work to start soon on Marysville museum

MARYSVILLE -- Construction of a new history museum is scheduled to start soon.

The frame of the two story, 12,000-square-foot building is to begin going up by early October, said Ken Cage, president of Marysville Historical Society.

A museum has been a goal of the Marysville Historical Society since 1974 when the nonprofit was founded, added Cage, 81.

"The goal was always to collect writings and artifacts for the early history and build a museum to display it," he said.

In 1986, the group bought land off Armar Road, near Jennings Memorial Park. In 2006, a $3 million capital campaign started to raise money for the project. A design was completed but plans stalled in 2008 due to budget constraints.

The museum building's plans were shrunk to fit the budget, Cage said. But it still will include a hall for community use.

"One of the neat features is it's going to not only be a museum its going to be a community center," Cage said.

The museum will be built in phases, Cage said. The $400,000 raised so far includes $250,000 from the Marysville Rotary and is enough to complete the exterior shell of the building. The society will continue to raise funds to finish the museum.

City officials, including Mayor Jon Nehring, attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the site Aug, 25. The museum's temporarily home is a storefront at 1508-B Third Street. The historical society has about 200 members and is managed by volunteers.

Cage said he's feeling a bit relieved, now that construction is so close.

"The building is going to be really good and I think the community center aspect of it is going to be really good for Marysville," he said.

Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.