CENTREVILLE &045;&045; With construction of the Centreville Museum nearing completion, organizers met Monday with a representative of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to discuss the next steps in the project.

The museum will focus on the local history of Camp Van Dorn, a World War II army post where troops from the 63rd &uot;Blood and Fire&uot; and 99th &uot;Checkerboard&uot; Divisions trained for combat in Europe.

Over 40,000 soldiers were stationed at the sprawling base just south of Centreville from 1942 until the war ended.

MDAH Field Services Curator Cindy Gardner provided Centreville Museum Committee members with a list of exhibit designers and told the group to begin planning its presentation of artifacts and historical data.

&uot;Your job now is to preserve the artifacts you’ve collected. These designers and consultants can help you with advice on the types of exhibits you’ll need,&uot; Gardner said.

Gardner advised the committee that it could expect to spend $25,000 or more on exhibit designs and related costs.

&uot;The higher end would involve more computers and kiosks &045;&045; more interactive exhibits,&uot; Gardner said.

The museum project was initially funded in 2002 with a $375,000 grant through the MDAH Community Heritage Preservation Grant Program. The grant required $75,000 in matching funds.

An early 20th century bank building on Centreville’s Main Street was renovated and expanded to house the museum.

Committee members said construction costs will total $440,000 and additional funds will be needed to pay the architect’s fee and cover the cost of furnishings, fixtures and exhibits.

Gardner suggested other grant sources may need to be explored to help with those expenses.

&uot;It’s a very good idea to have one paid employee to handle the museum’s business &045;&045; a director to coordinate grant projects,&uot; she said.

Committee members also realized a need to continue local fund-raising efforts and discussed the idea of forming a foundation to support area museums.

The Centreville Museum is a division of the Wilkinson County Museum and the Woodville Civic Club.