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Douglas County leaders have voted to end the lease of the longtime Museum of History and Art in downtown Douglasville, surprising the museum’s director and raising concerns among supporters of the area’s recent downtown revitalization.
The museum, which also serves as a welcome center, has operated rent free for 27 years inside the historic former county courthouse on Church Street. The county ended its month-to-month lease this week, though officials say the notice will run longer than the required 30 days and extend at least through the end of the year.
Museum director Susanne Hudson said she had no warning.
“We haven’t even had time to think about it, we have not even had time to think about it, nor has the county officially notified us,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it because we’ve been here so long and we saved the building purposely for a museum. They were going tear it down for a parking lot.”
Visitors were still coming in Thursday morning, including tourists from the Netherlands looking for “Stranger Things” filming locations. Inside, the museum displays the original desk used to sign the deed granting land for the Douglas County seat. Exhibits include the Douglas County Nine, a group of Black World War I soldiers, and a full history of the county’s sheriffs.
Commissioner Martin Braxton said the lease termination does not guarantee the museum will close. He pointed to a 2023 Kennesaw State University study that found the facility needs improvement.
“Things related to fundraising, becoming self-sufficient,” Braxton said. “To make it more inclusive and diverse in some of the artifacts. This was the first step in an overall comprehensive analysis and review of the overall usage of that facility.”
He said he did not know why Hudson was unaware the vote was coming.
Hudson said the staff is always working to bring more people in.
“Trying to gain visitors, we always do,” she said.
The museum is located inside a 1950s courthouse that has been central to Douglasville’s downtown renaissance. Community members now worry it could lose a key piece of its identity.
