Bountiful raising $$ for a new museum

BOUNTIFUL —— While Bountiful residents celebrated their past at the centennial commemoration of the Stoker School earlier this month, city officials were looking to the future when they announced a fund-raising drive to collect money for a new museum.

The proposed museum would sit on campus of city hall in Bountiful, said Dean Collinwood, chairman of the Bountiful Historical Commission. The addition would give needed space to the already cramped quarters of the historic log cabin where artifacts are currently housed. It would also be climate controlled to keep historic items from deteriorating and protect Bountiful's history for the next generation of residents.

"Think about how important it is to preserve the history," Collinwood said. "They (the artifacts) don't last unless someone takes effort to preserve them."

Members of the Bountiful Historical Commission are asking residents to "open their hearts and their wallets" and donate what they can to help carry the effort forward. The city is establishing a special non-profit fund to keep money collected from the fund-raising drive for the building and maintenance of the museum.

"It's amazing to consider that we haven't had a museum," Collinwood said. "We really need a museum."

The only museum within city limits is the small log cabin that opened a year and a half ago to house historic items. In that time, members of the community have already filled the cabin to capacity with donated items. The new museum will be necessary to protect the items the city already has and to preserve any additional items that may come in, said Tom Tolman, member of the City Council and the Bountiful Historical Commission.

"If we don't do it, it's going to be lost," he said.

The new museum will be attached to the art museum and adjacent to the public library, making it an ideal location for the city to add to Bountiful history. Collinwood said the fund-raiser should be completed within the next year with the goal of raising $1.5 million. There are no dates yet for when construction will start.

"It's going to be a wonderful addition to the city of Bountiful," he said.

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