Heritage Alliance – Updated Statement Covid-19 and Necessary Closings

The health and safety of everyone that visits the Heritage Alliance and our museums and attends our programs is our top priority. Over the past week, we have been monitoring the Covid-19 situation closely. Effective immediately, the Jonesborough Visitor’s Center is closed to the public for thirty days. They plan to reopen on Friday, April 17. In keeping with the Town’s and the Nation’s efforts to encourage social distancing, Executive Director Anne Mason, with full support of the Board of Trustees, has decided to temporarily close the offices of the Heritage Alliance and the Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum.

Our office will be closed to the public from Thursday, March 19 through Monday, April 20. Staff will stagger time in the office and museums with time working remotely from home. We will still be available by phone and by email. In the coming weeks, the Heritage Alliance will be increasing its online content with digital exhibits and more YouTube videos on the Chester Inn’s YouTube page.

The Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum will reopen on Saturday, April 18. Town Tours will also be suspended until April 18. The Jonesborough/Washington County History Museum and Archives will be closed to the public as long as the Visitor’s Center is closed. The Architectural Salvage Warehouse will reopen for the season on April 18 and be open from 8-12. The History Happy Hours scheduled for March 26 and April 16 have been cancelled. We will work to reschedule those programs for later this year. All school programming has been suspended through the end of April. As we get closer to these dates, if we need to reevaluate the situation and extend closures for safety’s sake, we will do so and keep you all up to date.

We want to assure our members and community that the Heritage Alliance is still here, and we will be working on creative ways to share history with all of you from afar. This is a challenge for us to rise to. Your continued support will be invaluable now more than ever. If you are able to, please renew your membership or make a small donation. Membership fees and donations help us grow our educational programs, even if we’re growing them digitally.

If you have any questions or concerns or ideas for fun videos, please reach out to us via email or by phone. We are still here. If history has taught us anything, it is that there will be turmoil, but there will also be a time after the turmoil. We look forward to being on the other side of this current challenge, and we look forward to evaluating the lessons we will have learned. We encourage you to keep a journal during this time, to write letters, to take photos of what’s going on around you. I promise you that further down the line, some historian will really appreciate it.

Above all, stay safe and healthy. We wish nothing but the best for you all.