BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) – The Bennington Museum is considering changing its name to draw more visitors and better reflect its mission.

In a letter to members Wednesday, museum officials wrote that they were considering changing the name to the Bennington Museum of Vermont Heritage.

The museum is a short distance from the Bennington Battle Monument and the 200-year-old Old First Church where poet Robert Frost is buried.

It is home to the largest public collection in the world of Grandma Moses art and memorabilia.

They said they felt such a change would respond to questions raised during a public forum last year about how the museum could better serve the community and its more than 47,000 annual visitors.

“It doesn’t change our mission. It is a museum of Vermont heritage. It’s art. It’s culture,” said Executive Director Stephen Perkins. “We are Vermont and this is our heritage. I just want to make that clear.”

The museum’s roughly 700 members have until Oct. 22 to comment on the name change proposal.

If the change is approved by the museum’s board of trustees at its November meeting, it would take effect next year.