Natchez National Historic Park officials had a small audience Thursday evening but shared big news about the William Johnson House. Park officials learned this week that they have been approved for the final piece of funding for the $1.8 million project to restore the Johnson house and the McCallum house with which it shares a wall.

&uot;As all of you know, we’ve been working trying to get the William Johnson House up and running for public enjoyment for some time,&uot; park Ranger Bill Justice said. &uot;This is not an easy task.&uot;

Park Superintendent Bob Dodson estimated construction could begin by the end of next summer or early fall.

The circa 1840s Johnson house, located on State Street, is significant because of its owner: William Johnson, the &uot;barber of Natchez,&uot; who kept a diary of daily life which was later published and gives insight into everyday Natchez.

&uot;He was an ordinary man who became extraordinary because he kept a diary,&uot; said Mimi Miller, director of preservation and education for the&160;Historic Natchez Foundation.

While the money is in place for construction, park officials will have to find funding later for the exhibits.

The proposed exhibits were the focus of Thursday’s public meeting at the Historic Natchez Foundation office. Design consultants have proposed an exhibit structure that would take visitors from the McCallum house, where they would learn about 1840s Natchez and middle class housing, to the first floor of the Johnson house, which would focus on his life and writing. The focal point of the first floor of the Johnson house, according to the schematic designs, is a glass cube on which would be etched portions of Johnson’s diary, in his handwriting.

&uot;The words of William Johnson – of any writer – take on the fullest meaning in the time and context at which they’re written,&uot; said design consultant Charles Davis.

&uot;We have a unique opportunity to connect the words (Johnson) wrote and the house he lived in.&uot;

Other exhibits would include reproductions of furniture Johnson could have had at his business and residence, a timeline of his life, a reproduction of the diary and an examination of the importance of journals to the public’s understanding of history.

Audience members at Thursday’s meeting suggested the exhibits also elaborate about Johnson’s unique position as a freed black man in Natchez.

&uot;The essence of William Johnson is that he was identifying with that which he could not be,&uot; said Natchez resident Ser Seshshab Heter-C.M. Boxley.

But while the Johnson house may open without those exhibits while park officials seek funding, Dodson said he does not think it will be lacking visitors. &uot;We could open it without a stick of furniture and we’d still have people coming to see it,&uot; he said. &uot;We’d still have an exciting story to tell.&uot;