Members of the Hungarian Settlement Historical Society are nearly ready for the opening of the Hungarian Settlement Museum located off La. Hwy. 43 in Albany. From left: Donna Hill, vice president; Alex Kropog, president; Royanne Kropog, treasurer.
The Hungarian Settlement Museum is in the final stages of renovation before it’ll be opened to the public. Built in 1906, the building has served as a school and a nursing home in the past but will soon be a museum dedicated to Hungarian culture.
Stacks of old lumber and sheets of rusted tin cluttered the Hungarian Settlement Museum when Alex and Royanne Kropog took charge 17 years ago.
Though things are still a work in progress, they are nearly ready for the opening of the 111-year-old building.
The Hungarian Settlement Historical Museum, located off Louisiana Highway 43 in Albany, is in the final stages of completion before it’ll be opened to the public.
Alex Kropog, president of the Hungarian Settlement Historical Society, said he hopes to open the museum with a ribbon-cutting ceremony sometime in June, but there are still two obstacles to tackle.
First, the building manager must hook up the two brand new air conditioning units to the old building, which has never been climate controlled. Once that is finished, a fire marshal has to inspect the building to make sure everything’s up to code.
It’s been a long process, but after years of filling out grant requests and asking for donations, Alex and Royanne almost have everything ready.
“They have their act together,” said Donna Hill, vice president of the non-profit corporation. “They know what they’re doing.”
It’s another change to a building that has seen plenty since it was built more than a century ago in Springfield.
It was first erected in 1906, serving as an elementary school for the Livingston Parish School Board for the first 21 years of its existence.
In 1927, it was cut into three sections and transported — by wagon — from Springfield to its current location off Highway 43 in Albany.
Royanne Kropog, who wrote a book chronicling the Hungarians’ arrival and settlement in Louisiana, said it took about three weeks to move the building since workers had to lay logs over potholes to keep the wagons from getting stuck.
The building served as the Hungarian Settlement School for the next 17 years before it was converted into the “Our Home” nursing home in 1945.
“Our Home” shut down in 1976, which left the building was abandoned for the next 23 years until the Hungarian Settlement Historical Society secured a 50-year lease with automatic renewals on the land and building from the LPSB in 2000.
The museum has undergone major renovations since Alex and Royanne took over in 2000, though nothing happened during the first three years as they sought financial support for the project.
Work on the museum officially began in 2003, when a new, shining metal roof replaced the old, rusted one — a $20,000 project.
After the new roof was on, all the building’s windows were replaced — another $14,000 — before Jay Labarre Associates completed the architectural plans for $3,000.
In 2010, two exterior walls were replaced and painted while the electrical wiring and insulation was being installed. A year later, nearly half of the building’s interior was restored. Both of those projects exceeded $54,000.
Eventually, all the boards on the outside had to be taken down, sanded, painted and nailed back on. The foundation was also shored and leveled, all six porches were rebuilt and every hole left after the removal of the previous sprinkler system was filled.
All told, more than $350,000 from donations and grants went into establishing the Hungarian Settlement Museum, but that just covered supplies — all the work was done by volunteers.
Royanne, who serves as treasurer for the Hungarian Settlement Historical Society, has even contributed all the earnings from her 2006 book “The Story of Árpádhon: Hungarian Settlement, Louisiana 1896-2006” into the project, which is nearly $18,000.
All the work has nearly paid off.
Ninety-eight people have donated items to the museum, which is mostly filled except for one room in the back. The main gallery at the entrance of the building is almost complete as the Kropogs wait for the final artifacts to come in.
Besides the gallery, the building also has three functioning bathrooms, an office, a break room and a research area.
Though the taxing process is near completion, Alex Kropog said it’s “not complete by any means,” adding that he can’t give a definitive date for the opening.
But as he eyes fell on the display of the Hungarian National Anthem hanging on one of the walls in the main gallery, Alex Kropog seemed content with where they were at.
“It makes shivers run down your spine,” he said.
