Historic Locust Grove announcedthat construction is underway on the long-planned expansion of the Visitors Center building.  A new exhibition has been planned for the space, which will also include extensive renovation to the interior of the 1970’s era structure.  Another feature of the new exhibition area, which is expected to open in the summer of 2008, is the conversion of the site’s existing 1810 log house from office to exhibit space.  The cabin will now represent the surveying office of William Croghan, who was Locust Grove’s owner, and the surveying partner of George Rogers Clark, his brother-in-law.

“The improvements will make Locust Grove an even more attractive historic site,” Mayor Jerry Abramson said.  The building addition and renovation was designed by JRA Architects of Louisville, and is being constructed by Bornstein Construction.

The new exhibit gallery will focus on the land of Kentucky as it was transformed from a wilderness claimed by many nations, into cultivated farms in the new United States, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  The American Revolution in the Ohio Valley will be viewed through the military campaigns of Gen. George Rogers Clark, who won much of the region for the new nation.  Historic Locust Grove’s Executive Director, Carol Ely, stated “We are pleased to have the space to tell the story of why George Rogers Clark matters so much to the history of this region and this country.”

The story continues as surveyors, such as Clark and Croghan, divide the land for settlement and farming.  The lives of Locust Grove’s Clark and Croghan families are featured, along with the site’s enslaved African-Americans, and visitors to the farm. The later history and restoration of the site in the 1960’s will also be presented.  The award-winning Louisville exhibit firm Solid Light is designing the new exhibition.

The renovated structure will also include a climate-controlled collections storage area and an archive room.