Ft. Benning, Georgia
When the Historic Westville Board of Directors decided to relocate its living-history museum from Lumpkin, Georgia to a new site in Columbus, Georgia, one of their first calls was to French & Associates. Having worked with Westville on many occasions, our firm was very familiar with Westville’s mission of bringing the experience of pre-Civil War South to life. Having previously coordinated the relocation of the World War II Company Street at the National Infantry Museum, French & Associates understood the challenge of relocating over 40 historic structures a distance of nearly 42 miles. Aiding in this monumental task was Aaron & Clements, Project Managers, and Thayer-Bray, General Contractors.
Focused on a Central Courthouse Square – typical of many rural, southern towns – the activities of the 1850’s come to life with candle-making, black-smithing, baking, and many other daily tasks, all recreated by historical interpreters. The use of a polymer-soil mix provided the local fire marshal with appropriate load bearing capacity for fire apparatus while maintaining the visual appearance of dirt streets.
Beyond the initial logistics of the relocation, French & Associates also provided, master planning, civil design, and landscape architectural services. Mr. French, as a member of the Moon Meeks tea, is eager to continue its involvement with Living histories Projects.
