By Barbara Melton, President, Board of Directors of Adair Living History, Inc.
Click here for a virtual tour of the Adair Interpretive Center
Things are moving right along inside the barracks building that will become the Adair Interpretive Center. The electrical wiring is completely installed! Our insulation contractor will finish up, maybe this week, maybe early next week. In the meanwhile, our HVAC contractor will be in Adair Village on the 17th to install a couple of vents—one in the bathroom, and one in the kitchen. He will also install and connect the bathroom fan. After that we will be installing sheetrock. Our building will start looking like a “real” building soon.
Corridor leading from south to north (west side)
The building is divided into three large areas. The extreme south end of the building will hold displays and artifacts and will be arranged so that we can have events in there, or college seminars might come in to study right on the grounds where all the Adair history was made. Our plan is to have several 3D displays cases built on wheels so that they can be moved elsewhere during events. We will be able to project images or videos via a built-in projector and large screen. There’s really no limit to the number of things a room such as this can be used for.
South End of the Building (meeting rooms and exhibit display)
The middle section, with a new entrance on the east side, will contain a desk for docents to use, plus a couple of study areas that anyone can come in and use to do research. We hope to grow into a facility where interested folks can come and find out information, such as how to ask the military for family members’ records, or when the town of Wells was first established. Our remit will be contained within the 65,000 acres that the US Army first reserved to establish Camp Adair. Whatever happened within those borders will be what we hope to help people learn about.
Our climate-controlled storage room will also be in this middle section. Things made of paper or cloth will need to handled and stored carefully to extend their lives.
Finally, in the middle area of the building will be a handicapped-accessible bathroom, and a small kitchen. We’d like to be able to offer coffee, tea, water, and snacks to those visiting the Interpretive Center.
Middle Section of the Building
The north end of the building will be a permanent display—and partial reconstruction of a barracks building, as the men who trained at Camp Adair lived in. Because of the generosity of various donors, we already have in storage a couple of bunk beds, a pot-bellied stove, and a footlocker to be used to furnish this area. In addition, the walls and ceiling will be covered in shiplap. This is not entirely period, but it will provide a hint at the rough conditions these young men inhabited while they trained.
North End of the Building
There will also be a small office in this area, where Adair Living History can meet, work, and generate more ideas about the things we can do to share the rich history of the area.
Thanks for following us as we continue this big, always interesting, and very exciting project!
The electrical wiring is completely installed! Our insulation contractor will finish up this week. In the meanwhile, our HVAC contractor will be in Adair Village on the 17th to install a couple of vents—one in the bathroom, and one in the kitchen. He will also install and connect the bathroom fan.
After that we will be installing sheetrock. Our building will start looking like a “real” building soon.