We are similar here in Minnesota. We are located in a community of about 200 people and in a county with a little over 8,000 people. But we are located three miles from a lake which is one of the most popular sites for recreation in southern MN and also has a state park (which is where most of our tourists come from). But we do get about 2,500-3,500 visitors each year.
We are open Wednesday – Sunday 10am-5pm Memorial Day to Labor Day. There are certain parts of the park you can look at on your own. Other parts you can only see on a guided tour. The guided tours are conducted every hour on the half starting at 10:30 and last at 3:30. In May, September and October, we don’t have set hours but are open by appointment. Those hours are successful for us, although we get the occasional visitor who comes before 10am, expecting us to be open (before they look at the posted hours)
Thanks,
Jakob H. Etrheim
Historic Site Coordinator, End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum
507-763-3708<tel:507-763-3708> | 507-836-6533<tel:507-836-6533> | [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
endoline.com<http://endoline.com/> | murraycountymn.com<http://murraycountymn.com/>
440 North Mill Street, Currie, Minnesota 56123
From: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Michelle Zupan
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2019 2:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] operations of historic site
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Hello Marilynn,
We have your EXACT situation, just a couple thousand miles south. We are rural, with a low visitorship, and a very small staff (2 FT, 1 summer intern, 0 volunteers).
We've tried several approaches since we opened in 2004:
-- open Monday - Saturday, from 9am - 5pm, tour when you walk up
-- open Monday - Friday, 10am - 5pm, tours on the hour
-- open Monday - Friday,10am - 4pm, tour when you walk up
In every single one of those circumstances, we could sit here all day and never see a soul.
We are very rural and there is literally no other reason for tourists to come to our small town. Our interpretive focus does not have the "name recognition" of something like Jefferson or Lincoln or Ford. Nor is our site something so unique/odd that it is a curiousity, like the Biltmore.
So, now we are open by appointment , though we will do a walk-in if we are here, which has curtailed a lot more visitorship, I'm sure, but it has permitted us to focus on what our real strenths are: school groups from September through May, teacher training workshops year round, and summer camps (4 weeks for ages 10-17).
We are busy all the time and relish not having to give constant wallpaper and furniture tours.
--
Michelle Zupan
Curator
Hickory Hill & the Tom Watson Birthplace
502 Hickory Hill Drive
Thomson, GA 30824
706-595-7777
FAX: 706-595-7177
Visit us at www.hickory-hill.org<http://www.hickory-hill.org> or on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/hickoryhillmuseum>.
Follow us on Twitter: HHEducation
Historic homes of the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc<http://www.watson-brown.org>.
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