GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Max T. Felty looked down at the ruins of Atlanta.
“This one is one of my favorites,” he said of the Civil War scene. The detailed miniature battle scene features more than 100 small figures and the blackened remains of a half dozen buildings.
Mr. Felty’s company, Gettysburg Tours Inc., is selling the 4-foot-by-8-foot diorama and the rest of the contents of the Soldiers National Museum this week.
Facing declining visitor numbers the past decade, the museum closed earlier this month after more than 50 years on Baltimore Street. Competition for tourists had gotten tougher since the opening of several interactive museums and attractions in recent years.
“We felt we did not have the money or the expertise [to compete with] some other locations,” Mr. Felty said.
Items offered for auction sale later this week include 10 dioramas showing pivotal moments from the War Between the States, more than 3,000 toy soldiers from all eras of history, Civil War-period swords and guns and two full-size reproduction cannons.
The museum building was the headquarters of Union Gen. O.O. Howard during the Battle of Gettysburg. It later was an orphanage for the children of Union soldiers. Plans call for restoring the 19th-century structure to its 1863 appearance. The space the museum now occupies most likely will be converted for retail and office use, Mr. Felty said.
The Soldiers National Museum is not alone in re-evaluating its exhibits and business model, tourism official Carl Whitehall said. He is director of communications for Destination Gettysburg, the region’s marketing organization.
“We’re saddened by the museum closing, but we see what Max is doing as a smart move and hope something great can move into its place,” he said.
The Soldiers National Museum operated for many years as the Charley Weaver Museum of the Civil War. “Charley Weaver,” an elderly rural character that actor Cliff Arquette created, appeared on many television shows through the mid-1970s. Mr. Arquette also was a wood carver, and 35 of his works, which had been on display at the museum, are for sale. His subjects included Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee and a self-portrait in his Charley Weaver persona.
Charley Weaver also turns up in another museum display. Among the life-size figures gathered around a Confederate campsite is one dressed as Mr. Arquette’s TV character. All 21 of those museum mannequins will be sold.
Mr. Felty, 29, is president of Gettysburg Tours Inc., one of several history-related businesses he operates in the Adams County borough.
Gettysburg Tours’ buses transport 60,000 to 80,000 visitors annually to local historic sites, he said. Other related attractions include the Hall of Presidents and First Ladies and the museum and gift shop at the Jennie Wade House. Jennie Wade was the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg. All the attractions operate on Baltimore Street near the Soldiers National Cemetery. The cemetery was where Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19, 1863.
Mr. Felty’s late father, Ronald, was a longtime partner in the company. Mr. Felty, a graduate of Elizabethtown College with a degree in business, began working for Gettysburg Tours in 2008. His father died in 2009, and he has been president since 2011. “I appreciate the history, but my passion is more in business,” he said.
“There is a lot of cool stuff here,” he said of the museum collections. “I’d like to see people and institutions that have passion for history have the opportunity to acquire these items.”
Besides Civil War era items, the museum collection includes objects from more recent conflicts, including World War II and Vietnam.
Mr. Felty said the sale likely would not draw interest from major museums. “The majority of the things we have here are things they already have a lot of, and we don’t have a ton of provenance,” Mr. Felty said.
“Provenance” is the term for the records proving history and ownership of art works and artifacts.
Among the items that have drawn the most attention from potential bidders are the Charley Weaver carvings, Mr. Felty said. He is hoping that at least some of the 10 dioramas can find new homes in other museums or in communities with Civil War connections. Subjects include the attack on Fort Sumter, the battles of First Bull Run, Mobile Bay and Antietam and the Siege of Petersburg.
A half-century was a good run for the Soldiers Museum, but the time had come to take a new direction, Mr. Felty said. “We have to keep changing and reinventing ourselves,” he said. “We want to keep Gettysburg at top-of-mind awareness for people coming to visit.”
Mr. Whitehill agreed. “People and museums need to change with the times,” he said.
The auction of the Soldiers National Museum collections will begin at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday at The 1863 Inn of Gettysburg, 516 Baltimore St.
The preview day will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at the museum, 777 Baltimore St.
More information is available at the website, www.paonsiteauction.com of by calling 1-717-630-9349.
First Published: November 17, 2014, 5:00 a.m.
