Museum will boost tourism

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: August 12, 2008

Considering the slumping economy, weighed down by high gas prices and their residual effects, people – families, in particular – are choosing to vacation close to home.
Call it a “staycation” if you will, but people apparently are discovering the beauty and diverse recreational opportunities that North Carolina – and most especially Rockingham County – have to offer.
Statewide visitor spending increased by more than 7 percent in 2007, with 94 of 100 counties showing growth in tourism revenues, according to a recent report by the state Department of Commerce. Rockingham County posted an increase of 3.11 percent last year, earning nearly $62 million in tourism-related expenditures. It was the sixth consecutive year of growth for the county, the 15th year since 1991.
That growth should continue, especially if county leaders take our suggestion to develop a consolidated, professional tourism strategy that reaches people from Mount Airy to Calabash. We’ve received publicity from “Our State” and UNC-TV, though people in Goldsboro, for example, may see one piece but miss the other. Thus the need for comprehensive countywide public relations and marketing effort, as well as a county museum.
We applaud state historian Lindley Butler’s efforts to launch a feasibility study for the museum involving the old courthouse. Wentworth has agreed to fund a quarter of study, but the effort is contingent on the Tourism Development Authority and Rockingham County agreeing to join the council and the Rockingham County Historical Society in the effort.
The 100-year-old building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is should be a showcase piece after the new judicial center is built in the next couple of years. The museum would also open the road to our county’s history, which is much needed. The county will recoup any money spent on the project through museum fees and increased tourism.
Butler said it best:
“The museum would help make sure these stories that are important to the development of Rockingham County don’t fade away.”