After nearly closing due to state funding shortfalls, the Robert Toombs House Historic Site is now open again, thanks to an agreement made between the state Department of Natural Resources and Washington and Wilkes County leaders.

After the state of Georgia made drastic budget and manpower cuts in June that closed the site except for one day a month, a city-county partnership has fully restored the home's hours of operation to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each Tuesday through Saturday. Thirteen-year veteran Ranger Marcia Campbell, who was let go in the state cutbacks, will be the on-site employee, paid through the Washington-Wilkes Payroll Development Authority.

Wilkes County Commission Chairman Sam Moore said that since June 15, when the Toombs House operating budget had been cut by the state, Wilkes County commissioners worked with Tim Banks and Becky Kelley of the DNR Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Division, to explore options for keeping the house open, or to take it over locally.

"We were just determined that the Robert Toombs House was going to stay open, with the state's help or without," Moore said. "It's always been one of the main focal points for tourism here, and it was too important to let it stay closed."

Negotiating with the state, and with the help of State Representatives Mickey Channell and Lee Anderson, Moore said, Washington- Wilkes hammered out an agreement to take the Toombs House back from the state of Georgia. "Dealing with the lawyers - contract lawyers and insurance lawyers - that's what took so long."

Marcia Campbell is being paid, at least for the first few months, from a stimulus package program, the Workforce Investment Act for dislocated workers. "When the state laid her off after 13 years, she became eligible for this program," Moore said. "We are so lucky to have Marcia Campbell come back - she's an unbelievable asset. She knows Robert Toombs and the house better than anyone, and has raised up a group of volunteers who make the Toombs house a real visitor attraction."

"I'm so thrilled to be back after months in limbo," she said Friday as she dusted displays in preparation for opening. "This has been in the works for some time, but they just told me Monday that we'd be opening next week, so I'm excited. We're so grateful for Sam Moore and the PDA for stepping in and saving us from closure."

Money to maintain and operate the home, in addition to paying the curator's salary, is still a challenge not yet met. "We've been talking with several non-profits about help with the maintenance and operation of the house," Moore said, "but ultimately our goal is to obtain the house from the state of Georgia. I think that's where we're headed."

From an economic development point of view, the Toombs House is becoming more and more important as the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States approaches, Moore said. "We've got to market this right, because these anniversaries are going to drive tourist traffic here."

The state of Georgia will still list the Toombs House on all its tourism and historic websites, he said, drawing tourists - and the money they spend - to the city.

"It was absolutely vital that our local leaders step up and take it over," said Tourism Director Ashley Barnett. "They know how important the Toombs House is to Washington and to our tourism industry, and even more so as Civil War tourism increases in the coming years."