It’s been a long time in the making and an even longer time in the wanting, but the Ardmore Veterans Group will open the first Ardmore Veterans Museum at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19.

The museum started as a veterans memorial, according to group president Ken Crosson. Three flag poles were placed on a concrete base for the public to see as they drove through Ardmore.

A collection of memory rocks was also given a home in the memorial. Each rock contains the name of a local military member as well as his or her branch of service and other information.

“We started with 30,” Crosson said, “and now I’ve got 400 up there. That’s our veterans memorial.”

But Crosson felt Ardmore veterans needed more.

“I thought, ‘If I could have a veterans museum, that would be wonderful,'” he said.

Crosson, an Army veteran himself, moved to Ardmore after he retired. The city is divided by the Alabama/Tennessee state line, which makes one side Ardmore, Alabama, and the other Ardmore, Tennessee. Crosson served on the city council of Ardmore, Tennessee. He continues to serve as president of the Ardmore Veterans Group, which consists of veterans from both states.

It was Ardmore, Tennessee, that donated a 3,500-square-foot space for the museum. Inside, items from local veterans in Alabama and Tennessee are displayed, including uniforms and memorabilia from members and people in the community. Thanks to an outpouring of donations, Crosson said the Ardmore museum is already half-filled, with the other half filling quickly.

“I got all kinds of people who brought me memorabilia from the second World War, the first World War, Korea, Vietnam, all that,” Crosson said. “All this stuff they had sitting in closets at home, they brought it up here to be displayed.”

There will also be a library in the museum filled with books, maps and other war- or veteran-related texts.

“They’re still bringing stuff in,” Crosson said. “That’s OK. We’ll take it.”

Admission for the grand opening of the museum is free. Light refreshments will be served, and visitors can tour the facility.

“After the grand opening, we’ll sit down and establish hours we’ll be open,” Crosson said. “We’ll have veterans here during that time, so people can roam around — stuff like that.”

The museum is behind the Piggly Wiggly on Main Street in Ardmore, Tennessee.

“You can’t miss it,” Crosson said.

“Mommas and daddies can bring their kids in here and show the stuff, like, ‘This is your grandaddy’s, this is your cousin’s,'” he said. “It’s important, especially with what our veterans are going through today.”