The Ramseur Community Museum, as it is now known, was initiated as a project in recognition of our nation’s Bicentennial year. In a meeting in April of 1974, Town officials adopted a plan to renovate an old, one-room frame building that had served for years as the Ramseur Post Office and convert it into a public museum. The old building had been moved several times over the years, and eventually became an addition to the residence of former Postmaster John Roe Steele. When the Steele home was donated to the Jordan Memorial United Methodist Church, the structure was removed from the rest of the house and moved to its present location behind the Ramseur Public Library. The Town budgeted $1,500 for the restoration project. On October 6, 1975, Ramseur Mayor June Beane appointed a Historical Committee to work on the old Post Office building and compile information for exhibits. The restored building opened in 1976 and was accessible to the public by appointment or by obtaining a key from one of the librarians.
Over the ensuing years,
the museum saw less use and the Historical Committee disbanded. The old Post Office building began to fall into disrepair and it became evident that the lack of climate control was having a detrimental effect on the historic documents and exhibits stored in the Museum. In early 2002, responding to community concerns about the deterioration of items in the Museum, the Town Board began to discuss the need to either restore the Museum or establish a new location that would be both more suitable and secure. Mayor Hampton Spivey appointed a new Historical Committee to oversee the museum process. The new Committee met on May 21, 2002 and agreed to request that the Town relocate the Museum to the first floor of the Ramseur Community Building. The Committee also began to inventory, clean, and take steps to preserve items on display in the former Post Office building.
Preparations to relocate in the Community Building continued from2002 until 2006 as the Town performed
substantial renovations on the building and the Historical Committee made remodeling recommendations, obtained display cases, and continued to sort through historic material. After many long hours and years of preparation, the Historical Committee held a preview reception on Friday, November 17, 2006, and successfully opened to the general public the next day.
The Ramseur Community Museum continues to receive material from area residents, allowing exhibits to be rotated on a regular basis. The Museum is staffed by volunteers from the Historical Committee, and is generally open the fourth weekend of each month (Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.) and by appointment. School groups and other civic groups are welcome. Come visit the Ramseur Community Museum and take a journey back in time.
Contact us
Ramseur Community Museum
Emily Johnson (336-879-3673)
P.O. Box 545
1517 Main Street
Ramseur, NC 27316