The Oakleigh mansion will remain open to the public, the Historic Mobile Preservation Society confirmed in an announcement made Friday, closing out weeks of uncertainty over the fate of one of Mobile’s most recognizable historic landmarks.
Under the plan, the antebellum-era museum and its attached gift shop will operate four days a week going forward. Visiting hours will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, with shorter Sunday hours from 1 to 4 p.m.
The society said in a statement that support from the Mobile City Council, city officials and the broader community had brought the organization nearly to its funding goal, though it is continuing to seek additional pledges to secure the museum’s future.
A funding scare earlier this fall
The push for donations began after the Historic Mobile Preservation Society warned earlier this fall that it would be forced to close the historic house without an infusion of roughly $40,000, an amount organizers said would allow the museum to operate on a bare-bones budget. The society pointed to a combination of funding cuts throughout 2018 and rising maintenance costs at the aging property as the source of the shortfall.
The warning prompted a wave of renewed attention to Oakleigh’s finances. During an October Mobile City Council meeting, the city’s executive director of finance and Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s acting chief of staff, Paul Wesch, told council members that Oakleigh House was in no immediate danger of closing. Wesch added, however, that the city would be prepared to take over the property if the preservation society could not close the funding gap on its own.
What comes next
With the reduced four-day schedule now in place, the Historic Mobile Preservation Society said it will continue to lean on community pledges to keep the museum sustainable long-term. The organization has operated Oakleigh for decades as one of the centerpieces of Mobile’s historic preservation efforts, offering tours of the antebellum mansion and its grounds to residents and visitors alike.