After months of organization and formalities, the Lincoln CountyHistorical and Genealogical Society is ready to pump up itsmembership and begin the hunt for a museum in Brookhaven.

Society Chairwoman Rita Rich said anyone interested in thecounty’s history is invited to the society’s first general meetingTuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the State Room on Cherokee Street.Representatives from the historical societies and museums fromneighboring Amite, Copiah, Franklin and Lawrence counties willattend the meeting to share the nuts and bolts of their operations,and general information on the local society will be available.

“This will give us insight into what they did and how theyobtained the money for their museums,” Rich said. “What types ofmeeting do they have? How many members? We can just learn somegeneral information about their societies.”

While the society has been active in raising funds through thesale of Dr. Jack Tindall’s book, “Early History of Lincoln County,Mississippi,” and contacting county residents for artifacts for apotential museum, finding a building in which to display thecounty’s historical pieces has been challenging.

The society had originally requested in February that theLincoln County Board of Supervisors appoint a commission to fosterits growth and find a museum, but the board did not have theauthority to do so.

Since then, Rich said the society has raised about $12,000through the sale of Tindall’s history book – a decent amount for ayoung organization, but not nearly enough to purchase or rent andmaintain a museum.

“There are some buildings around – we’ve been offered somebuildings – but we can’t afford to purchase them,” she said. “Ittakes upkeep, heating and cooling – it’s a lot when you talk aboutsetting up a museum.”

Before any progress can be made toward obtaining a museum, Richsaid the society first must beef up its ranks with dedicatedmembers. Tuesday’s meeting will also try to meet this purpose.

Membership in the society is $20 annually, and anyone whopurchases Tindall’s $30 book automatically receives a one-yearmembership.

If enough people get on board with the society, Rich believesthe problems in finding a building to serve as a museum can bebested.

“A lot of counties – more than you realize – have some type ofmuseum,” she said. “And some of these counties aren’t asprogressive as Lincoln County. I’m not trying to be forward, but wehave more size and support and we can have a museum, too. Rightnow, we have enough artifacts that people would like to contributethat we could probably fill up a warehouse.”