Stung by dwindling donations in a sluggish economy, officials at the Watkins Community Museum of History are counting on a new gift shop to bolster their bottom line.

Miss Lizzie’s Gifts is expected to generate sales of $10,500 a year from its remodeled home, a former upstairs storage area in the museum at 1047 Mass.

And with this year’s donations running at $31,000 — $14,000 short of the museum’s usual amount — officials know that the gift shop’s success will be more important than ever.

“Time will tell,” said Rebecca Phipps, who joined the museum as director in February. “Any business venture — and this is a business venture — is difficult, and it might be that we don’t make a profit this year. It might be that we, maybe, don’t make a profit next year. But I think it’s very possible that we can succeed. The gift shop has the potential to become a constant and significant portion of our income.”

The Watkins museum isn’t alone in its quest to cash in on its history.

Such gift shops have become a focal point for museums suffering through a sluggish economy, said Becki Swinehart, a spokeswoman for the Museum Store Assn. in Denver.

As governments cut allocations and foundations trim grants, she said, it’s only logical that museum officials increasingly turn to their own stores for help. At the association’s 1,700 member stores, each visitor spends an average of $2.11.

Thelma Taylor, a volunteer at the Watkins Community Museum of History, runs Miss Lizzie's Gifts, a new gift shop at the museum, 1047 Mass. Officials hope that the shop will help generate much-needed money for the budget of the Douglas County Historical Society. Taylor is pictured on Tuesday in the shop.

“There is increased pressure on the stores to bring in more revenue as the other sources of revenue are decreasing,” Swinehart said. “The store is a viable place to bring in revenue when it’s done well: good products, good display, good location.”

Thelma Taylor, manager of Miss Lizzie’s Gifts, figures her shop qualifies on all three counts.

The shop features a wide selection of gifts and collectibles that connect to Douglas County history, some more loosely than others. While bookshelves feature titles that chronicle the city, Quantrill’s Raid and other historic topics, other tables and glass cases display candles, Coca-Cola beverage trays and reproductions of Betsy McCall paper dolls.

The shop’s $15,000 worth of inventory also includes notecards, posters, teapots, vases, porcelain dolls and other products that Elizabeth Watkins — namesake for both the shop and the museum — would be pleased to offer for sale.

“It’s not the typical, boring museum gift shop,” said Taylor, who once owned and operated her own gift store, Calico Barn, at 15th Street and Kasold Drive. “(Here) they can find all sorts of wonderful things: jewelry and books and linens and candles. We have a lot of Christmas greenery. And teapots — almost anything you could want.”

6News video: New store focuses on city historyWatkins Community Museum

A longtime supporter of the museum, Taylor said she welcomed the opportunity to come out of retirement and help. She spends her days ordering merchandise, organizing displays and pricing each individual item — complete with a hand-written price tag whose small-town feel hides a stark financial reality.

“Everything is done as frugally as possible, so we can put all the money back into the museum,” Taylor said.