John Caramia, chairman of the Mathews Historical Museum board, spoke March 8 to members of the Mathews County Woman’s Club.

Caramia has worked in museums for over 35 years and has been chairman of the museum’s board since 2018. The new museum is located at 200 Main Street in Mathews, and has undergone many iterations since it was built around 1936.

It started as a car dealership that also sold gas and oil, a bowling alley, a pool hall, a utilities building, a movie theater, VEPCO, a Bassett furniture store, Craftsman fabric shop, The Dilly Dally Emporium and then finally, in 2018 an anonymous donor made it possible to establish the building as the Mathews Historical Museum.

Caramia discussed rehabilitation that has been needed including cleaning out ditches, replacing wall studs, painting and HVAC repairs, along with regulating temperature and humidity, and ensuring safety and security.

This year the capital campaign will begin, despite the inability due to COVID-19 to hol...