PERRY — After years without a location to showcase artifacts, the Perry County Historical Society plans to reopen a county museum April 18 inside the former Bura Conway Public Library building in Runnelstown. 

Organizers said exhibits will highlight Perry County’s military history and local heritage. 

The historical society spent years working to relocate and restore its collection from a museum it previously operated in New Augusta, which was condemned after Hurricane Katrina. After the closure, artifacts were placed in storage across multiple locations in the county. 

Jana Benakovich, who has been a member of the historical society for three years and now serves as its president, said recovering those items has taken time. 

“We’ve been in the process of collecting all the artifacts from families and from where they were stored,” Benakovich said. “It has been quite an adventure finding out where those things went, and some of those people are now deceased, so going through family members and getting the artifacts back has not been easy.” 

She said members of the historical society spent months preparing the new museum space to preserve Perry County’s history and provide a place where residents can learn about the area’s communities, families and veterans. 

As they prepare to open, the organization is recruiting additional historical items to display — specifically photographs, family heirlooms, school or church memorabilia, military items and business artifacts connected to Richton and Beaumont — communities Benakovich said are not yet well represented in the museum’s collection. 

The historical society worked with City Council officials to approve the museum’s new location inside the former library building at 5046 Highway 29 in Petal, Mississippi. Once open, it will operate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., although specific days have not yet been set.