The wrath of Hurricane Irene reached into the Slate Valley Museum on Sunday, as the waters of the Mettowee River rose up to completely surround the building.

“We had about two feet of water at the front door last night,” said Board member David Bridges told The Sentinel on Monday morning.

As of 11 a.m. on Monday, volunteers were busy moving damaged materials out of the museum and cleaning up the mess left behind by the flood waters. “There’s a lot of mud,” said Bridges. “The water damaged everything that was on the floor.”

While all the water had receded by Monday morning, Bridges said it was a little too soon to estimate when the museum might reopen. “Maybe tomorrow (Tuesday),” he commented.

On Tuesday, August 30, the Slate Valley Museum had planned its Annual Dinner & Auction at the Forum Restaurant. The dinner would go on as planned, said Bridges.