Repairs sought for Urbanna Museum and Visitors Center

The Urbanna Museum and Visitors Center (UM&VC) building in Urbanna has a long history going back to the tobacco trade in Middlesex County. For a while, its origin and use were lost to history. Today though, with some certainty, it is believed that it was built as a Scottish Factor Store, the only one of its kind left in America.

In the 1930s a tobacco company considered purchasing the old colonial building, known for generations as the Old Tobacco Warehouse, dismantling it and setting it up as an exhibit at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York.

When Urbanna townsfolk learned of the possible dismantling this sparked the creation of the Ralph Wormeley Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA). The Virginia APVA along with the local branch raised funds to purchase the land and structure.

The Ralph Wormeley Branch of the APVA was established on May 30, 1938 with Mrs. James M. (Margaret) Barnhardt elected president of the group. Their goal was a complete restoration of the building, but structural work would not begin for another 25 years.

With the 1951 election of Mrs. A.J. Chewning, who would later own the Old Colonial Tavern building, “a more vigorous program was pursued.” Mrs. Chewning appointed General R. Latane Montague of the Old Custom House in Urbanna as chairman of the restoration committee. General Montague had previous experience with such work at Gunston Hall (home of founding father George Mason) and brought “this knowledge to bear.”

Dr. Wesley Newton Laing, an experienced university professor of history, was hired in 1958 to do the “major report” on the building. The major report is today in the Urbanna Branch of the Middlesex County Public Library. It was completed in 1960.

The report determined by tracing deeds of ownership in the courthouse in Saluda that the building was a commercial store structure rather than a tobacco warehouse. Archeologists dated the structure to have been built between 1763-1767.

Restoration began in 1964 with the rebuilding of the brick walls, porch, and roof all completed by 1965. Total restoration was completed in 1967 and that year the Urbanna Public Library moved into the downstairs of the building. Although it took the APVA nearly 30 years to restore the building, this completed the first major restoration of the structure since it was built.

With the elimination of branch APVA organizations, the Town of Urbanna acquired the building in 1997 from the APVA and had a second restoration performed making it handicapped accessible and converted it into the town visitors center.

Friends of Urbanna

Several years ago, the Town of Urbanna encouraged the 501c3 nonprofit group Friends of Urbanna (FOU) to help the town obtain grant funding to study the current condition of the colonial building.

The group was able to obtain a River Counties Community Foundation Grant, which was used to hire the firm of Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects out of Albany, New York. The firm determined there was $250,000 worth of repair work needed on the building.

Aubrey Hall of FOU reported last week that the group has received a $25,000 matching grant from The Cabell Foundation out of Richmond that can go towards the repairs. Hall also said that the River Counties Community Foundation Grant committee had awarded FOU another $15,000 grant, of which $12,500 can go towards the match. “We have about $7,000 in our account from individual donations to start the first phase of repair,” said Hall.

“With about $50,000 available, we plan to fix the crack in the side of the outside brick wall on the western end of the building,” he said. “This building is one of the most significant buildings in America and we have it right here in Urbanna and Middlesex County,” said Hall.

“So many times throughout its history, the wrecking ball was just moments away from taking it away but someone always stepped forward to keep it alive.”

Anyone interested in donating towards the repairs and restoration of the Urbanna Museum and Visitors Center building can send checks to Friends of Urbanna, P.O. Box 1117, Urbanna, VA 23175.