The RV/MH Heritage Foundation has approved a plan to construct a new $1.5 million, 20,000 square-foot Manufactured Home Museum.
“The new museum will be built as a wing on the northeast side of the existing RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart,” foundation President Darryl Searer said. “The entire space will be dedicated to showcasing the manufactured housing industry and will include exciting exhibits, interactive displays, historical artifacts, and generational manufactured houses for the public to view and tour.”
Searer said the museum will be a unique and historical public experience dedicated to the industry, and will include exhibits and attractions specifically designed for families and children.
Each year, the hall of fame inducts a new class of 10 total RV and manufactured housing industry professionals, in addition to serving as a depository, holding place, and showcase for industry history.
“This will be a state-of-the-art museum and create a masterpiece in the manufactured home industry,” Searer said. “As its birthplace, Elkhart, Ind., will now have a claim to the pinnacle of manufactured home museums to celebrate the industry.”
Manufactured Homes of the Past, Future
Foundation board member Jim Scoular, of Jimsco, Inc., has been a driving force on the Manufactured Home Museum project, Searer said.
“This museum will celebrate the history of our industry, showcase the homes of today and provide a window into futuristic mobile and modular housing,” Scoular said.
The museum will serve as an educational destination to learn about affordable non-subsidized housing, with captivating displays and interesting insights into all aspects of the industry.
Factories, dealerships, suppliers, manufactured housing communities, transporters, banking, and all other aspects of the industry will be featured and honored.
The museum is on a fast track to completion with final plans expected Feb. 15 and construction starting April 15. Searer said the plan is to have construction wrapped up in September.
“This will bring a whole new excitement for the MH Industry,” he said. “It will bring a new energy and balance to the Hall of Fame.”
The foundation continues to take donations for the new Manufactured Home Museum, through Feb. 15.
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