Museum directors around the country took notice of Martin's methods long before his retirement and subsequent passing. During an era when many regional museums struggled with shrinking endowments and declining attendance, Martin maintained double-digit attendance increases by refusing to make exhibitions comfortable. He championed projects that chronicled tobacco workers, LGBTQ+ history in the American South, and the contested origins of urban highway construction that bisected thriving Black communities.
His philosophy was straightforward: if an exhibit did not spark debate in the museum lobby, the museum was failing its mission. The institutional legacy he leaves behind serves as a working case study for mid-sized historical repositories nationwide. It proves that local history, when treated with unsparing intellectual rigor and unconditional public generosity, commands deep community loyalty.
