Yellow Trail Museum to celebrate visitors center opening

Local News
The Clouse Family Wagon, the biggest display in the museum. Photo courtesy of the Yellow Trail Museum.

The Yellow Trail Museum in Hope will be having the grand opening of its new Visitors Information Center this week.

A new timeline wallpaper that briefly tells the history of Hope. Photo courtesy of the Yellow Trail Museum.

The new center, which had a soft opening in April, is a satellite location for the Columbus Area Visitors Center. A previous version of the satellite center operated out of the former Irwin Union Bank Building and Hope Star-Journal building on the Town Square.

The new location and the part-time person it brings allows the Yellow Trail Museum to stay open more days of the week. Paige Waltz, the new employee, says that the museum now is open for tours with hours on every day but Tuesday.

Normal hours of operation are Mondays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

She explains what new visitors will find when they stop by the museum.

She also has had time to tackle some longer-term projects to improve the museum’s offerings.

Another project was creating a new website for the museum. You can find that site at yellowtrailmuseum.wixsite.com.

Waltz stressed that this is not a case of the visitors center taking over the museum, but rather of the two working together to promote the town.

Paige Waltz at the soft opening of the new visitors center in Hope in April. Photo courtesy of the Yellow Trail Museum.

The grand opening will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday evening. The event will include tours, discussions of town history and refreshments.

The Yellow Trail Museum is on the northwest side of the Hope Town Square at 644 Main Street.

For more information or to schedule a visit outside normal hours, call 812-371-7969 or 812-546-8020.