With COVID-19, what’s the future of Kentucky museums that show our past?
In July 2019, 1,995 tourists visited the two-story brick building in the hustle-and-bustle of downtown Lexington that was the girlhood home of Mary Todd, the wife of the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.
That was before COVID-19.
In July of this year, with the devastating virus on a rampage, the 14-room house on West Main Street attracted 816 visitors — a 59 percent drop in attendance for the non-profit museum.
Down the road about 2 miles east at Ashland, the historic estate of 19th century Kentucky statesman Henry Clay, about 100 people visited each day before COVID-19.
“Now it’s good if we have 30,” said Jim Clark, executive director of the 17-acre estate.
Non-profit museums of history dedicated to preserving our past like the Mary Todd Lincoln House and Ashland are worried about their future.
“The fate of historical organizations may seem trivial as the human and financial toll of the virus continues to mount, but right now history is essential,” John Dichtl, president and chief executive officer of the Nashville-based American Association for State and Local History, said in a recent blog post. “As we near the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026, history institutions can help Americans come to a more critical, more inclusive, and more widely shared understanding of our history. The past belongs to everyone. We must act now to ensure that history has a future.”
A survey released last month by the American Alliance of Museums of 760 museum directors in the U.S. found that 33 percent were not confident they would survive the next 16 months. About 37 percent said they expect to lose 20 to 40 percent of their income this year.
The museum alliance, based in Arlington, Va., is advocating for $6 billion from Congress for museums to provide general operating support and other critical relief.
Many museums in Kentucky — including the Mary Todd Lincoln House and Ashland — have been helped by the federal Paycheck Protection Program. It is an emergency loan program that gives businesses with 500 or fewer employees, including charitable nonprofits, a forgivable loan to pay staff and operating costs for two months.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear allowed museums in the state to reopen June 8 after they were closed in March for the coronavirus pandemic.
The American Alliance of Museums survey showed that museums in Kentucky had a $511 million financial impact on the state’s economy in 2017, provided 8,902 jobs and generated $111 million in taxes.
It’s been slow going for many of them this year.
“We’re working as a team and making the most of it,” said Gwen Thompson, executive director of the Mary Todd Lincoln House. “Of course, the main concern has to be for our staff and visitors — physically and mentally.”
The museum closed March 16 and reopened July 2.
The biggest change, said Thompson, is a conversion to all self-guided tours.
“To do this, we had to get exhibit cases, more security equipment and install signage. We still have docents stationed at particular places but we limit visitors to one hour and keep them spread out over nine rooms,” she said.
Most visitors to the house come in April and October during the Keeneland race course season and in July and August.
In July 2019, the house took in $25,528 from admissions. That dropped to $10,995 this July. Its annual budget is $350,000.
“We’ve also shut down all public programming and have been able to keep our two full-time staffers and two part-timers due to federal help. That covered about 42 percent of what we have lost and we still have a long way to go,” said Thompson.
The house has had no change in admission prices — $15 for adults and $6 for children six to 17 years of age.
Asked if the Mary Todd Lincoln House will survive, Thompson said “we will,” before quickly asking herself “how long?”
Clark, with Ashland, said the historic site has implemented safety precautions, such as social distancing and mask wearing, “but we still have had a big reduction in visitor admissions. We have scaled back about 70 percent.”
He said it’s difficult to get many people through the house in a day because of its narrow halls and passageways.
“We used to have 20 people on a tour,” he said. Now, eight people are allowed on a timed tour and school groups are no longer coming.
The Henry Clay estate, with a $700,000 operating budget, was closed from March 15 to June 16. Federal funds preserved the nine-person staff and admission was increased in June to $25 from $15 for adults. Students pay $15.
About three-fourths of the estate’s volunteer docents have been released, Clark said.
Besides maintaining the house, he said, “We have had to do more work on the 17 acres and arboretum. We have more people walking the grounds now to find a quiet, safe place to go.”
Clark said Ashland also started offering two new tours this summer that deal with slavery at the estate and the history of women at Ashland.
“We particularly hope they will attract more local people with something new,” he said.
Ashland will survive, Clark said. “We have an endowment and the generosity of individuals have been significant. But it’s hard to count on individual donations because who knows what the economy is going to be in coming months.”
Hopemont, the Hunt-Morgan House, at 201 North Mill Street in the historic antebellum Gratz Park, now requires tourists to give a 24-hour notification of their visit.
And it is taking no tour groups larger than eight in the Federal style residence built in 1814 that was home to John Wesley Hunt, the first millionaire west of the Alleghenies; and Dr. Thomas Hunt Morgan, the first Kentuckian to win the Nobel Prize.
“We have so much hand sanitizer now the place smells like gin,” said Jackson Osborne, preservation outreach coordinator for the non-profit Blue Grass Trust and Historic Preservation group, which oversees the property.
So far, Farmington Historic Plantation in Louisville has not restarted tours of the 1816 home built for John and Lucy Speed. It was the center of a thriving 550-acre hemp plantation with nearly 60 slaves. Abraham Lincoln, who formed relationships with the Speed family, visited there for three weeks in the summer of 1841 during a break in his relationship with Mary Todd.
“We have virtual field trips for school children. We’ve been hit hard in our volunteers, many of whom are in the high risk category for the virus,” said executive director Kathy Nichols.
C. J. Hunter IV, executive director of the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center in Maysville, said the museum, open Tuesday through Saturday, is closing 30 minutes earlier every day for cleaning purposes.
“Since we reopened June 9, we’ve added more signage and cameras in the museum and featuring more local exhibits. Our seminars now are virtual,” said Hunter. “The bus tours have stopped for now.”
The museum features the history of the area, a miniatures collection and the history of Bourbon and the Old Pogue distillery. It had its best year last year with about 22,000 visitors, said Hunter.
“We don’t expect to get close to that this year but we are trying to get more kids involved for long-term survival,” Hunter said.
“My biggest fear, and I think for many museum directors, is where will we be this time next year.”
CORRECTION: Gen. John Hunt Morgan never resided at Hopemont. Incorrect information was provided to the Lexington Herald-Leader for initial stories.
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 9:39 AM.
