By Associated Press - Sunday, May 18, 2014

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky, will undergo a nearly $12 million expansion to make room for additional artifacts.

According to The Courier-Journal (https://cjky.it/1itwXz2), the society plans a 20,000-square-foot building that will be connected by elevated glass walkways to its existing 109-year-old Ferguson Mansion headquarters and the society’s museum in the mansion’s carriage house.

The society, founded in 1884, has grown in recent decades from a small, private history club to the region’s pre-eminent outlet for regional history. It has about 3,000 members and sees about 10,000 visitors a year, including about 3,000 who come for research and several thousand schoolchildren.

Officials say the new building will house a large history center to provide easier access to the society’s vast Ohio Valley History collection.

Filson director Mark Wetherington said the expansion will double the society’s storage area.

“We have over 2 million items, and people keep giving us stuff,” he said.

The building will also have a conservatory, banquet facilities, museum exhibit space, as well as room for lectures and educational programs.

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Information from: The Courier-Journal, https://www.courier-journal.com

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