Curious Collection | Former school houses natural history museum, hosts floating art exhibit
Nikki Burk
Issue date: 11/9/06 Section: TruLife
The Washington School at the intersection of Harrison and Davis streets has a secret world within its walls.
The 81-year-old building, once a grade school, is now home to thousands of artifacts and fossils, ages' worth of electronics as well as a Sumatran tiger.
Kirksville resident Charles Tharp, 52 and retired, owns the old brick school building and works daily on incorporating this array of items into exhibits for the Washington Museum of Natural History, Art, Science and Literature that he plans to open there.
Tharp said the all-encompassing name reflects what the museum will display.
"It's a fairly eclectic mix of things," he said. "You know, to me, anything that has intrinsic value that somebody else might be interested in seeing is the type of things we will have in here."
Something of interest for everyone should be on display when the museum is complete, and if not, visitors won't be able to resist admiring what Tharp has created inside this building.
Tharp bought the Washington School building from the Kirksville School District in 1989, just a few months after the school closed permanently, and spent a mere $1,555.55 on the 28-room schoolhouse. He later got a slightly better deal when he made a purchase of $1 for the old high school, located at the intersection of McPherson and Florence streets, which he now uses as storage for the museum.
Tharp has purchased and repaired more than 10 old buildings in his lifetime, but this is his first museum.
"I have always had an affinity for old buildings," he said. "I'd save them all if I could."
The museum is a Missouri nonprofit corporation, and Tharp is working on a tax-exempt status for donations to the museum. Until then, he said he will rely on generous donations from others or findings of his own.
The old paintings resting on children's desks lining the hallways of the first floor are among some of Tharp's findings for the museum. Nearby is a classroom full with more than 10,000 volumes of books overflowing from shelves and boxes.
The 81-year-old building, once a grade school, is now home to thousands of artifacts and fossils, ages' worth of electronics as well as a Sumatran tiger.
Kirksville resident Charles Tharp, 52 and retired, owns the old brick school building and works daily on incorporating this array of items into exhibits for the Washington Museum of Natural History, Art, Science and Literature that he plans to open there.
Tharp said the all-encompassing name reflects what the museum will display.
"It's a fairly eclectic mix of things," he said. "You know, to me, anything that has intrinsic value that somebody else might be interested in seeing is the type of things we will have in here."
Something of interest for everyone should be on display when the museum is complete, and if not, visitors won't be able to resist admiring what Tharp has created inside this building.
Tharp bought the Washington School building from the Kirksville School District in 1989, just a few months after the school closed permanently, and spent a mere $1,555.55 on the 28-room schoolhouse. He later got a slightly better deal when he made a purchase of $1 for the old high school, located at the intersection of McPherson and Florence streets, which he now uses as storage for the museum.
Tharp has purchased and repaired more than 10 old buildings in his lifetime, but this is his first museum.
"I have always had an affinity for old buildings," he said. "I'd save them all if I could."
The museum is a Missouri nonprofit corporation, and Tharp is working on a tax-exempt status for donations to the museum. Until then, he said he will rely on generous donations from others or findings of his own.
The old paintings resting on children's desks lining the hallways of the first floor are among some of Tharp's findings for the museum. Nearby is a classroom full with more than 10,000 volumes of books overflowing from shelves and boxes.
Be the first to comment on this story