Suitors come calling on the Museum of the Confederacy

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Museum of the Confederacy may be lacking for visitors, but it has plenty of suitors.

This year, more than a dozen sites have contacted museum officials with hopes of enticing the trove of Civil War history to their town. Some are outside Virginia.

"We have been swamped with inquiries from all over the state," said Waite Rawls, the museum's president and CEO. He declined to identify any of the bidders.

Rawls said he hopes to begin reviewing the proposals by April 15.

Museum officials announced in October that they were seeking a new home for the world's largest Civil War collection to escape the steady expansion of the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. The adjacent White House of the Confederacy will remain where it has stood at 12th and East Clay streets since 1818.

A steady tumble in attendance has prompted the proposed move.

Museum officials have been touring possible sites, including the historic Rockbridge County Courthouse complex in Lexington. Like the other interested sites, Lexington officials will receive a request for proposal.

The document spells out what the museum is looking for in a new home: a building with about 60,000 square feet, with about half that meeting museum-quality environmental and security standards. New construction is preferred and would cost about $20 million.

Other requirements include convenient dining options, parking to accommodate 150-plus cars and easy road access. The site also should have other historic attractions nearby.

"Our preference would be to stay in Richmond," Rawls said. "Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy, it was the epicenter of the whole war, the collection was put together here and it's been here for 117 years."

One proposal would keep the museum in Richmond.

The Virginia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has proposed taking over management of the museum. Brag Bowling said his group would focus exhibits and events on the South instead of trying to be "politically correct."

"They are trying to appeal to the mainstream," he said. "That's not what the museum is about. It was set up to be a shrine to the Confederacy."

Museum officials have said they might drop the word "Confederacy" if they move.

Should the museum remain in Richmond and keep its name, Bowling said he would no longer see a need for the Sons of Confederate Veterans to pursue a takeover.

"The museum is a treasure-trove of history," he said. "It should be a piece of cake to promote and raise money for."