HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Downtown Hopkinsville’s iconic skyline was interrupted after a storm blew through the area and significantly damaged the clock and the Woody Winfree Fire-Transportation Museum. Two years later the building is still covered in tarps and wood boards, with repairs finally scheduled to start this month.

The reconstruction of the facades is set to begin in September with work to the town clock following soon after, according to a news release from the museum. The entire structure was heavily damaged by straight line winds in a powerful storm on March 31, 2023. The building’s south facade facing Ninth Street, its east facade, and two faces of the town clock all suffered substantial loss. The Local Development Corporation reached a settlement with insurance in the spring of this year.

“The Local Development Corporation, the building owner, and the Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County, the tenant, appreciate the patience of the community as we worked through a very complicated process with this project. We are dedicated to caring for this building and honoring its history as we bring it back to life as a useful, contributing piece of downtown Hopkinsville,” said a news release from the museum.

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Museum history, design plans

Located at 310 East Ninth Street, the building served as the Central Fire Station from 1905 until 1964 with the museum opened in 2008. Located across the street from the Pennyroyal Area Museum, this space houses a collection of transportation history with a buggy, wagons, horse drawn vehicles, and an antique fire truck. The museum has been closed since the storm.

After the storm struck, the Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County hosted a fundraising block party to attempt to raise money for clock repairs.

Last spring, museum Director Alissa Keller described the building as a shell with a hole inside after the debris and items were removed from the floor after the damage. She admitted at the time that the process of initiating repairs was taking much longer than they anticipated.

A general overview of the work to be completed on the structure includes the reconstruction of the south and east facades, reconstruction of the parapet on the south facade, replacement of a steel lintel on the south facade, and the reconstruction and replacement of damaged windows. All repairs will be made to retain both the structural and historic integrity of the building.

The team for the reconstruction includes REB Architects from Nicholasville, Kentucky and C&C Contracting from Russellville, Kentucky. Both firms have extensive experience with historic structures including the rehabilitation of the Pennyroyal Area Museum in 2019-2020.

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