The current Ohio River Museum building will be razed and replaced by a new building that is in the design stages at this time. The current building will remain closed until it is torn down. The museum land and building are owned by the Ohio History Connection. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)

A new Ohio River Museum building on the museum’s current Front Street site in Marietta is in the designing and engineering phases, according to Neil Thompson, the media and public relations manager for Ohio History Connection, the nonprofit, statewide historical society headquartered in Columbus.

“We have a ways to go before deciding any groundbreaking plans or setting definite construction guidelines, but we are very excited for both this reinvestment in the historic Marietta community and the ability to modernize our exhibits on how the Ohio River has helped shape the past, present and future of this part of the nation,” he said in an email. “I can confirm there is an interpretive plan under way to engage visitors in the history of the Ohio River and its importance to Ohio statehood, economic development and culture.”

The OHC owns the buildings and grounds and most of the exhibits at the Ohio River Museum. Friends of the Museum, a local volunteer group, handles day-to-day operations and programming, and cares for the property.

The current building consists of pods with outdoor walkways connecting them. That structure is now closed, will not reopen, and will come down. In its place, OHC is planning, among other things, a mulitpurpose space that can be divided into two classrooms or used as one space for conferences and events. In addition, there will be a special space for the Washington County Local History and Genealogy Archives. “We’re working to provide appropriate climate-conditioned space in partnership with the Washington County Commission,” he said. There will be increased parking for both the library and museum visitors.

Thompson said the most recent estimate for the total budget is $8.5 million. Approximately half will be from state capital budget appropriations. In addition to the state awarding $3 million in its mid-June capital projects funding for FY 2023/2024, roughly $1 million was awarded in the FY 2021/2022 capital list.

Other public funding includes about $2.5 million from the Washington County Public Library. The balance will be from private fundraising and grants, which are still in process, Thompson said.

The genealogy library and multipurpose space are two features that will reinforce the river museum’s role as “a four-season community partner,” according to Erin Augenstein, executive director of the Campus Martius and Ohio River museums. She envisions a possible event center as a place that could handle social events, classroom activities, lectures and a host of other programming possibilities.

Augenstein, who has grown up in the area, has worked as executive director a little more than three months now. Since then, she said, she has seen out-of-state museum visitors practically every day.

“Just this week,” she said, “there were people from New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut here, and they weren’t visits that were related to each other.

“We see these two museums as community anchors, and to be able to work with a new construction project in conjunction with that is really special. This can be transformative.”