PRINCETON — The RiffRaff Arts Collective in Princeton has been awarded $637,000 to help develop a new center for industrial history.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., made the announcement last week as part of $241 million earmarked for West Virginia through the Fiscal Year 2022 omnibus package.

The Lonnie Gunter, Jr. Center for Industrial History will be located in the city’ historic East End.

Lori McKinney, Executive Director of the RiffRaff Arts Collective (RRAC), said the non-profit organization has secured and intends to develop three properties in the East End to establish the center (LGC).

The project site is adjacent to the Princeton Railroad Museum in the Mercer Street Historic District of downtown Princeton, she said. Part of the site includes the Wheby’s Grocery building – a landmark in Princeton, built in 1925.

“It is an exciting time for Historic East End Princeton,” she said. “The LGC along with the iconic Railroad Museum, the Agricultural Museum, and the recently announced Mythical Collectors Unauthorized Vehicle Museum, will firmly establish Princeton’s Museum District – a designation that will anchor the community in West Virginia’s heritage and tourism industry.”

“The LGC will be a destination full of wonder and inspiration where friends, families, students, educators, makers, enthusiasts, tourists and children of all ages will want to visit again and again,” said Robert Blankenship, grandson of Mr. Gunter and Creative/Technical Director of RRAC.

Gunter was “a brilliant mind and an avid collector. He collected a treasure trove of culturally significant artifacts which help preserve the industrial and cultural history of our state and nation,” McKinney said, and the LGC is a “legacy project, curated and intended to preserve and celebrate our state and nation’s industrial heritage.”

“My father’s collection encompasses an incredible body of artifacts including steam engines, early vehicles, agricultural machinery and equipment, antique toys and memorabilia,” Marcie Gabor, daughter and curator of Mr. Gunter’s collection, said when the project was first announced. “Dad collected these items throughout his lifetime in Southern West Virginia. His dream was to preserve the past to share with future generations.”

“It’s a significant collection. It’s well worth the investment if the city can make it as far as creating the multi-complex museum that we’re looking at,” City Manager Mike Webb said when the plan was initiated early last year. “You’re going to have a historic community at that point. It could be an all-day adventure really for families. It will tie in from one end to the other of Mercer Street.”

Proposed programming includes extensive exhibit space, a restoration workshop and MakerSpace focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education, a West Virginia artists’ gallery, and a period soda fountain.

The LGC is locally driven by the RiffRaff Arts Collective with support from the City of Princeton and the Lonnie Gunter Center Development Committee.