Museum collections finding homes, foundation planning sale for public

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- As most people know, Bollinger County Museum of Natural History in Marble Hill closed Dec. 31, but the work has just begun in finding new homes for the museum's exhibit items.

"Many people were surprised that we closed because they thought we were tax supported. We were not," said Eva Dunn, president of Will Mayfield Heritage Foundation Board of Directors. "We were a non-profit organization that operated on donations, grants and admission. So when COVID hit and the schools quit coming, and then the general public quit as well, and the corporations that had been doing grants also focused their energies elsewhere, we did not have enough reserves to weather over two years of drought."

So, with the museum closed, Dunn wanted to let the public know what will happen to the museum's exhibits.

Some of the exhibits were on loan from individuals that the foundation is working with to return them to their owners. For the museum's other exhibits, the foundation is working with other museums or historical venues to find good homes for them.

"We would like to keep items that are historically important for Bollinger County in the county, so we are working with the (Bollinger County) library to house some of the exhibits like the Missouri dinosaur story, Doc and Mary Hahn's collection, some of Tom Runnels' artwork, and a few other items that we can make room for at the library," Dunn said. "So, on your next visit to the library, see if you can spot a few new residents."

This allosaurus is among the dinosaur pieces now on display at the Bollinger County Library in Marble Hill, Missouri.Submitted by Eva Dunn

The Bollinger County Library is located at 207 Mayfield Drive in Marble Hill.

After all of the items that can be relocated have been distributed, she said there will be a tag sale for the public that will also include shelving, tables, decor, etc. She said the building itself will be sold because there are no funds to keep it maintained.

"The Will Mayfield Foundation will not fade away, though, because we have a large collection of documents and photos of our region that will be archived on a catalog that will be available to the public," Dunn said. "The funds from the sale of the building will allow us to hire a cataloger to do this job and help us support the displays at the library. Stay tuned and we will see what can be accomplished with a lot of hard work and imagination."