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Hagerstown advances renovation of Jonathan Hager House visitor center; phase 1 bids due next week
Summary
City staff updated the mayor and council on a multi-phase renovation of the Jonathan Hager House visitor center, describing a 600-square-foot retrofit paid with capital funds and Appalachian Regional Commission support and plans for a larger phase 2 if additional grant funding is secured.
City staff told the Hagerstown Mayor and City Council on Aug. 5 that work is underway to renovate the Jonathan Hager House visitor center and that phase 1 bids will be returned next week.
The update came from Eric Dyke and Kaye Osmer of the recreation department, who said the project will gut and retrofit about 600 square feet of adjacent visitor-space to add displays, lighting, flooring and electrical upgrades and to make self-guided and digital interpretive options available in addition to the house tour.
The phase-1 construction work, described as demolition of cabinetry and interior retrofit, is funded in part through the city’s capital improvement program and a $100,000 award from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). Dyke said the city has also committed $100,000 to the phase-1 work. Staff said phase 2 — which would include custom cabinetry and exhibit fabrication — would require further funding, and the city is pursuing an additional $150,000 from ARC for that next phase.
Kaye Osmer, recreation department staff, said artifacts removed from the visitor center this spring have been placed in archival storage and that staff have reselected items for reinstallation in new displays. She described a schematic exhibit plan that designates about 10 display spaces, including sections on Jonathan Hager and colonial life, the town’s transformation from Elizabethtown to Hagerstown, Little High School, a small theater/digital presentation area and material addressing ongoing site archaeology.
Osmer said the museum operates seasonally — roughly April through October, Fridays and Saturdays with one part-time employee — and that the renovation aims to expand visitor options for self-guided visits and to provide additional programming capacity for school groups, lecture series and events. "We're right now in phase 1," Osmer said, referring to the current construction stage.
Staff told the council the project team contracted with Ion Design for exhibit design and that earlier funding came from the Maryland Heritage Area Authority to install wayside panels along the walking trail. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is recognized at the state level, according to staff remarks.
Dyke said bids for the current phase will be presented to council at the end of the month, and that fabrication and installation for phase 2 would proceed if the additional ARC award and other funding sources are secured within the next two years. No formal council vote occurred at the Aug. 5 work session; staff presented the update and answered questions.
The council received the report; staff will bring the phase-1 bid results and any recommended award to a future meeting for formal action.
