The Beginning
In 2015 there were two groups, the James Solomon Russell Commemoration Committee, which has celebrated the legacy of JSR annually since 2009, and the Saint Paul’s College Museum Committee, which was formed after the closing of Saint Paul’s College in 2013. The two groups held joint meetings over the period of a year and concluded that since their efforts would lead to overlapping results the best way to serve the community would be to pool their efforts for one common goal.
The two groups formally joined forces and began planning and selected a name, James Solomon Russell-Saint Paul’s College Museum and Archives, approved the mission and elected officers: James Grimstead-Chairman, Bobby Conner-Vice Chairman, Teya Whitehead-Secretary and Regna Gordon-Treasurer. This action was followed by opening a postal box and a bank account.
The body then established its first objective as “Preparing the museum for opening to the general public”. It then selected the four officers as directors and drafted its new logo and laid out its exhibit floorplan layout. It also introduced new committees to its eleven new members.
The Brunswick County Board of Supervisors supported our efforts by providing us with operating space and utilities. We next applied for our VA state corporate non-profit status and our federal 501(C)3 tax exempt status which we obtained both.
All these completed efforts allowed us to plan for the future in which we conducted our first successful open house for the alumni and general public.
We are looking forward to a great future and are preparing for a big grand openinng
We want you to be part of our museums, experience its beauty and this is why we offer several ways to let you engage with us to help maintain and develop the museums. Whether you are a student aspiring a career in social work or a business person who loves to preserve and care about the ocal history or a couple looking to get married in an awesome traditional way. We have everything for all of you. Become a member today!
