SHERBURNE – It’s a mission to preserve local history, says Chenango County Historical Society member Walt Rogers, referring to the organization’s fundraising campaign to expand and upgrade its museum in Norwich.

“There’s a lot of history in Chenango County that we want to preserve,” said Rogers. “We’ve had very little room for displays and we lack storage space. And there are people out there who have wonderful items they would like to have at the museum, but they aren’t sure if we have enough room. They were right, we don’t. And we don’t want those artifacts that are out there to disappear.”

Starting Sept. 13, the society will be focusing its fundraising efforts in the Sherburne, Earlville and Smyrna areas. Society member Del Law, of Sherburne, says a committee of 20 will be canvassing those communities in the hopes that residents will take a hand in supporting the county’s collective history.

“It’s speaks volumes about a community that takes great care and interest in preserving its history,” Law said. “In our experience, we’ve found that people take a strong interest in preserving the history of Chenango County.”

The society’s goal is to upgrade the museum – a former Ward School located on Rexford Street – in phases. The first phase would include making the building handicap accessible. In development since 2005, plans also call for adding 12,000 square feet of exhibition and educational space off of the North and West ends of the building. In all, the society hopes to raise a total of $3.5 million over the next five years to complete the project.