FLUSHING — The Underground Railroad Museum is looking for volunteers to help with day-to-day operations and to assist when the museum moves to a new location.

Director Kristina Estle and one other are the only two volunteers at the museum, which makes it hard to run the museum. Estle would like to open the museum up for one day more each week than it is open now, but it doesn’t seem possible with the number of volunteers the museum has. Starting next month, the museum will be open from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Estle said she is looking for volunteers for everything from day-to-day operations, such as greeting people at the front door, to conducting tours. She said people could even volunteer to run the social media pages.

Estle said there are some days four or five groups will come to the museum and at that point, she’s not getting any computer work done, so having another person there will help Estle focus on other tasks she has to get done.

Estle stressed that when she is giving presentations and there is no one at the door, she has to stop her presentation and greet people at the door.

She described her position as not only a tour guide, but a presenter and researcher.

“It’s a lot, but it’s so rewarding,” she said. “I really, really love what I do. I’ve been volunteering for the museum for seven years now. It is a very rewarding experience. All the visitors that I’ve met over the years have been wonderful.”

When it comes to volunteering, Estle said she needs help with “absolutely everything.”

Estle also works two other jobs and has two children, making it more difficult to make the museum a priority, although she wants to.

“Just being open three days, it’s not enough. We do need to be open more, even a Sunday. People do travel on Sundays. So we just need more manpower so that we can do more.”

Volunteers don’t have to be historians or have a background in history. Estle is looking for people with various talents who she can give resources to and train. Estle does not want to turn anyone away but does prefer someone with education in their background who knows how to comfortably talk to visitors who come to the museum.

“When I started this position years ago, I was very shy and backwards,” she said. “It’s taken a lot for me to be able to talk to people, and now I can talk to a room full of 100 people. So it’s a growing experience. You kind of grow into the position.”

Estle said any volunteering will help, even if it’s only once a month, bimonthly, biweekly or every day.

Not only is the museum looking for help running the place, it is also searching for volunteers to help move artifacts to its new location, estimated to occur in fall 2026.

The museum is located at 121 E. High St. in Flushing but will move to the historic Black Horse Inn in Morristown after a portion of $3.9 million from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s Appalachian Community Grant Program goes toward completely renovating the Black Horse Inn.

Estle estimates the move of artifacts will take a week with volunteers packing and moving.

She needs to prepare individuals and train them on how to handle museum artifacts. She said volunteers will have to become knowledgeable with the archiving collection software the museum uses.

Estle is looking for dedicated individuals who are willing to train, learn and move the artifacts appropriately.

Estle added that volunteering at the Underground Railroad Museum is an exciting experience. Volunteers learn a lot and get to talk to many people.

“It’s really about creating friendships,” she said. “I still have so many friends from visitors who’ve come through the museum. So it’s more like a community than just an organization, and that’s what makes it such a unique experience.”