List of museums in West Virginia facts for kids
This list of museums in West Virginia encompasses museums defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.
Contents
Museums
Name | Town/City | County | Region | Type | Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adaland Mansion | Philippi | Barbour | Mountaineer Country | Historic house | 1870 period mansion |
Adam Stephen House | Martinsburg | Berkeley | Eastern Panhandle | Historic house | Also known as General Adam Stephen House, located next to Triple Brick Museum |
African-American Heritage Family Museum | Ansted | Fayette | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | African American | |
Alexander Campbell Mansion | Bethany | Brooke | Northern Panhandle | Historic house | Operated by Bethany College, early 19th-century period home of college founder Alexander Campbell |
Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum | Webster | Taylor | Mountaineer Country | Historic house | Home of Anna Jarvis, founder of the Mother's Day holiday |
Ansted Culture and Heritage Museum | Ansted | Fayette | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Local history | information |
Antioch Baptist Church Museum | Ansted | Fayette | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Local history | information |
Art Museum of West Virginia University | Morgantown | Monongalia | Mountaineer Country | Art | website, part of West Virginia University |
The Arts Centre | Martinsburg | Berkeley | Eastern Panhandle | Art | website, includes exhibit gallery |
Avampato Discovery Museum | Charleston | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Science | Part of the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences of West Virginia, science exhibits, art gallery and a planetarium |
Babcock State Park | Clifftop | Fayette | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Mill | Includes Glades Creek Grist Mill |
B & O Museum of Wheeling | Wheeling | Ohio | Northern Panhandle | Multiple | website, part of West Virginia Northern Community College, exhibits include B & O Railroad memorabilia, Hazel-Atlas Glass Company pieces; also known as West Virginia Northern Community College Alumni Association Museum |
Barbour County Historical Museum | Philippi | Barbour | Mountaineer Country | Local history | Exhibits include the mummified bodies of two female asylum inmates that were artificially preserved in 1888 |
Beauchamp-Newman Museum | Elizabeth | Wirt | Mid-Ohio Valley | Local history | Owned and operated by the Elizabeth Beauchamp Chapter Daughters of American Pioneers |
Beckley Exhibition Mine | Beckley | Raleigh | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Mining | Coal mine town, mine and museum, also Youth Museum of Southern WV |
Belle Boyd House | Martinsburg | Berkeley | Eastern Panhandle | Local history | website, operated by the Berkeley County Historical Society, family home of Civil War spy Belle Boyd |
Beverly Heritage Center | Beverly | Randolph | Potomac Highlands | Local history | website, combines four historic buildings to tell the story of the Battle of Rich Mountain, the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike, and daily life in a 19th-century rural county seat |
Bice-Ferguson Memorial Museum | Shinnston | Harrison | Mountaineer Country | Local history | website, exhibits include period room displays and antique telephones |
Birke Art Gallery | Huntington | Cabell | Metro Valley | Art | website, part of Marshall University |
Blenko Glass Visitor Center and Museum | Milton | Cabell | Metro Valley | Decorative arts | Visitor center includes museum |
Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park | Parkersburg | Wood | Mid-Ohio Valley | Local history | Includes Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History and rebuilt early 19th-century Blennerhassett Mansion on the island |
Brooke County Historical Museum | Wellsburg | Brooke | Northern Panhandle | Local history | Industry, early education and pioneer life |
Bulltown Historic Area | Bulltown | Braxton | Mountain Lakes | Military | Includes the 1863 battlefield of the Battle of Bulltown, a visitor center with exhibits about the town and the battle, and several 19th century log homes and other structures |
Caboose Museum | Mullens | Wyoming | Southern | Local history | |
Campbell-Flannagan-Murrell House Museum | Hinton | Summers | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Historic house | website |
Canyon Rim Visitor's Center | Fayetteville | Fayette | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Local history | website, one of three visitor centers for New River Gorge National River, area cultural and natural history |
Capon Bridge Museum | Capon Bridge | Hampshire | Potomac Highlands | Local history | website, information |
Carnegie Hall, Inc. | Lewisburg | Greenbrier | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Art | Regional cultural center with three fine art exhibit galleries |
Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park | Summersville | Nicholas | Mountain Lakes | Historic house | 1850s Patterson House Museum includes artifacts from the Battle of Carnifex Ferry |
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park | Cass | Pocahontas | Potomac Highlands | Railroad | Includes heritage railroad, museum, train shops, recreated 1940s logging camp, model railroads |
Cedar Creek State Park | Glenville | Gilmer | Mountain Lakes | School | Includes the Pine Run One Room School |
Central West Virginia Genealogy and History Library and Museum | Weston | Lewis | Mountain Lakes | History | |
Ceredo Museum | Ceredo | Wayne | Metro Valley | Local history | Facebook site, information, operated by the Ceredo Historical Society |
Chief Logan State Park | Logan | Logan | Metro Valley | Multiple | Includes Museum in the Park with changing art and history exhibits |
Children's Museum of the Ohio Valley | Wheeling | Ohio | Northern Panhandle | Children's | website |
C & O Depot Museum | St. Albans | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Railroad | |
Coal Heritage Museum | Madison | Boone | Metro Valley | Mining | website, operated by the Bituminous Coal Heritage Foundation, heritage of area coal fields industry |
Coal Heritage Trail Interpretive Center | Bramwell | Mercer | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Mining | information, West Virginia’s coal history |
Contentment Historical Complex | Ansted | Fayette | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Historic house | Mid-19th-century period home of Civil War Col. George Imboden, schoolhouse, museum of historic household and cultural artifacts |
Cook-Hayman Pharmacy Museum | Morgantown | Monongalia | Mountaineer Country | Medical | website, part of West Virginia University Medical Center, historic pharmacy display open by appointment |
Country Store and Museum | Glenville | Gilmer | Mountain Lakes | History | General store with antiques and historic shop items |
Craik-Patton House | Charleston | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Historic house | Mid-19th-century period home operated by the Colonial Dames of America in the state of West Virginia |
Daughters of the American Revolution Toll House Museum | Barboursville | Cabell | Metro Valley | Local history | website |
Davis History House | Romney | Hampshire | Potomac Highlands | Historic house | information, operated by the Hampshire County Public Library, 19th-century log house |
Daywood Gallery | Philippi | Barbour | Mountaineer Country | Art | website, part of Alderson-Broaddus College |
Doddridge County Museum | West Union | Doddridge | Mountaineer Country | Local history | Facebook site |
Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park | Hillsboro | Pocahontas | Potomac Highlands | Military | Includes museum with history and artifacts from the American Civil War battle fought at the site |
Eckhart House | Wheeling | Ohio | Northern Panhandle | Historic house | website, Victorian period house and tea room |
Fenton Art Glass Museum | Williamstown | Wood | Mid-Ohio Valley | Art | website |
Fort Ashby | Fort Ashby | Mineral | Potomac Highlands | Military | Mid-18th-century stockade fort erected by order of Col. George Washington during the French and Indian War |
Fort Edwards | Capon Bridge | Hampshire | Potomac Highlands | History | website, visitor center museum exhibits about the 18th-century frontier fort and the French and Indian War |
Fort New Salem | Salem | Harrison | Mountaineer Country | Open air | 19th-century log structures |
Fort Randolph | Point Pleasant | Mason | Metro Valley | Military | Reconstructed American Revolutionary War era fort |
Fostoria Glass Museum | Moundsville | Marshall | Northern Panhandle | Decorative arts | website, pieces produced by the Fostoria Glass Company |
Gauley Bridge Historical Museum | Gauley Bridge | Fayette | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Local history | information, scroll to listing |
Gorby's Vintage Instrument Museum | South Charleston | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Music | information, open by appointment, includes rare and exotic string, woodwind, brass and other instruments |
Graham House | Lowell | Summers | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Historic house | 18th-century house, includes Saunders One Room School House Museum |
Greatest Generation Exhibit | Rowlesburg | Preston | Mountaineer Country | Military | website, World War II memorabilia and home life |
Green Bank Science Center | Green Bank | Pocahontas | Potomac Highlands | Science | website, interactive science exhibits and tours of the Green Bank Telescope |
The Greenbrier - The Bunker | White Sulphur Springs | Greenbrier | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Military | 1950s secret emergency relocation center |
The Greenbrier - Presidents' Cottage Museum | White Sulphur Springs | Greenbrier | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | History | History of the Greenbrier and its presidential visitors |
Greenbrier Military School Memorial Museum | Lewisburg | Greenbrier | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Military | information, history of the defunct Greenbrier Military School |
Grave Creek Mound | Moundsville | Marshall | Northern Panhandle | Archaeology | Includes the Delf Norona Museum with artifacts from the prehistoric mound |
Hamilton Round Barn | Mannington | Marion | Mountaineer Country | Farm | |
Hancock County Museum | New Cumberland | Hancock | Northern Panhandle | Historic house | Victorian period house and display of local history |
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park | Harpers Ferry | Jefferson | Eastern Panhandle | Multiple | Includes many museums and historic sites |
General Thomas M. Harris School Museum | Harrisville | Ritchie | Mid Ohio Valley | Local history | Operated by the Ritchie County Historical Society |
Henry Cooper Log Cabin Museum | Parkersburg | Wood | Mid-Ohio Valley | History | Pioneer relics |
Heritage Farm Museum and Village | Huntington | Wayne | Metro Valley | Open-air | Includes Museum of Progress with home displays from 1850, 1900, to 1925, transportation museum and country store museum |
Hinton Railroad Museum | Hinton | Summers | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Railroad | Facebook site |
Historic Shepherdstown Museum | Shepherdstown | Jefferson | Eastern Panhandle | Local history | |
History House Museum | Terra Alta | Preston | Mountaineer Country | Local history | Operated by the Preston County Historical Society |
Huntington Museum of Art | Huntington | Cabell | Metro Valley | Art | |
Huntington Railroad Museum | Huntington | Cabell | Metro Valley | Railroad | website, operated by the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society |
International Mother's Day Shrine | Grafton | Taylor | Mountaineer Country | History | |
Jackson's Mill | Weston | Lewis | Mountain Lakes | Open air | Includes Jackson Family Mill Museum, Blaker Grist Mill, McWhorter Cabin, Mountain State Heritage Center and Mary Conrad Cabin |
Jefferson County Museum | Charles Town | Jefferson | Eastern Panhandle | Local history | website |
Jenkins Plantation Museum | Lesage | Cabell | Metro Valley | Historic house | Home of Confederate Brigadier General Albert Gallatin Jenkins |
John Brown Wax Museum | Harpers Ferry | Jefferson | Eastern Panhandle | Wax | website |
Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum | Wheeling | Ohio | Northern Panhandle | Toy | website, includes toys, model trains, and a scale model of downtown Wheeling |
Lighthorse Harry Lee Cabin | Mathias | Hardy | Potomac Highlands | Local history | Property administered by the State of West Virginia in Lost River State Park |
Lemuel Chenoweth House & Museum | Beverly | Randolph | Mountaineer Country | Historic house | Mid-19th-century period house |
Lost River Artisans Cooperative and Museum | Lost River | Hardy | Eastern Panhandle | Local history | website, includes furniture, tools, textiles, photographs |
Lost World Caverns | Lewisburg | Greenbrier | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Natural history | Includes cave tours and museum with fossils, rocks and minerals |
Madie Carroll House | Huntington | Cabell | Metro Valley | Historic house | 19th-century period house |
Mansion House Museum | Point Pleasant | Mason | Metro Valley | Historic house | Located in Tu-Endie-Wei State Park |
Marion County Historical Museum | Fairmont | Marion | Mountaineer Country | Local history | website |
Marshall County Historical Society Museum | Moundsville | Marshall | Northern Panhandle | Local history | information |
Matewan Depot Replica Museum | Matewan | Mingo | Metro Valley | Local history | Facebook site |
Mercer County War Museum | Princeton | Mercer | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Military | Also known as Those Who Served Museum |
Mesaros Galleries | Morgantown | Monongalia | Mountaineer Country | Art | website, part of West Virginia University |
Monongalia Arts Center | Morgantown | Monongalia | Mountaineer Country | Art | Art and culture center with two galleries |
Monroe County Historical Society Museum | Union | Monroe | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Local history | website |
Morgan’s Kitchen Plantation Museum | St. Albans | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Historic house | website, operated in the summer by the St. Albans Historical Society |
Morgantown History Museum | Morgantown | Monongalia | Mountaineer Country | Local history | website |
Mothman Museum | Point Pleasant | Mason | Metro Valley | Media | website, museum about the book and movie The Mothman Prophecies |
Mountaineer Military Museum | Weston | Lewis | Mountain Lakes | Military | website |
Museum of American Glass in West Virginia | Weston | Lewis | Mountain Lakes | Art | website, decorative glass pieces created by area glass manufacturers, includes National Marble Museum |
Museum of Radio and Technology | Huntington | Cabell | Metro Valley | Technology | Historic radios and equipment |
Museum of the Berkeley Springs | Berkeley Springs | Morgan | Eastern Panhandle | Local history | Located in Berkeley Springs State Park |
Museums of Oglebay Institute | Wheeling | Ohio | Northern Panhandle | Multiple | Mansion Museum - 1900 mansion with decorative furnishings and local history exhibits, and the Glass Museum with Wheeling glass and china |
New Deal Homestead Museum | Arthurdale | Preston | Mountaineer Country | Multiple | website, local history of this Depression-era project, period displays, art |
New Era School Museum | Mineral Wells | Wood | Mid-Ohio Valley | School | Facebook site, 1884 one room school |
North House Museum | Lewisburg | Greenbrier | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Historic house | Operated by the Greenbrier Historical Society, decorative arts and local history |
Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Arts Center | Wheeling | Ohio | Northern Panhandle | Art | Performing and visual arts center |
Oil & Gas Museum | Parkersburg | Wood | Mid-Ohio Valley | Industry | Oil and gas industry in West Virginia and Ohio |
Old Hemlock | Brandonville | Preston | Mountaineer Country | Historic house | 1782 log house and nature preserve, open for events and by appointment |
Old Mill at Harman | Harman | Randolph | Potomac Highlands | Mill | Working grist mill |
Old Morgantown Glass Collectors' Guild Glass Museum | Morgantown | Monongalia | Mountaineer Country | Art | website, decorative glass pieces, currently rebuilding the museum |
Old Stone House Museum | Pennsboro | Ritchie | Mid-Ohio Valley | Local history | Operated by the Ritchie County Historical Society |
Parkersburg Art Center | Parkersburg | Wood | Mid-Ohio Valley | Art | website |
Pearl S. Buck Birthplace | Hillsboro | Pocahontas | Potomac Highlands | Biographical | 1892 period home of writer Pearl S. Buck |
Pennsboro B&O Depot | Pennsboro | Ritchie | Mid-Ohio Valley | Railroad | Operated by the Ritchie County Historical Society |
Pocahontas County Museum | Marlinton | Pocahontas | Potomac Highlands | Local history | Operated by the Pocahontas County Historical Society |
Point Pleasant River Museum | Point Pleasant | Mason | Metro Valley | Maritime | website, river life and commercial enterprise on the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, including great floods, boat construction, sternwheel steamers, river disasters, river industry, contribution to World War II, a full scale pilot house simulator, 2400 GAL native fish aquarium and a research library |
Prabhupada's Palace of Gold | New Vrindaban | Marshall | Northern Panhandle | Religious | Memorial shrine built by Hare Krishna devotees for their spiritual master, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada |
Prickett's Fort State Park | Fairmont | Marion | Mountaineer Country | Living | Reconstructed 1770s log fort with seasonal 18th-century living history demonstrations and the 19th-century Job Prickett House |
Princeton Railroad Museum | Princeton | Mercer | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Railroad | website, over 100 railroad lanterns, exhibits of railroad artifacts, artworks, books, photographs, and corporate railroad material |
Raleigh County Veterans Museum | Beckley | Raleigh | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Military | Facebook site |
Randolph County Museum | Beverly | Randolph | Potomac Highlands | Local history | 1828 store housing a collection that includes early settlement tools, Civil War artifacts, and belongings of early citizens |
Rehoboth Church and Museum | Union | Monroe | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Religious | 1780s log-cabin style church and adjacent museum, heritage landmark of the United Methodist Church |
Rowlesburg B&O Depot and Museum | Rowlesburg | Preston | Mountaineer Country | Railroad | information |
Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum | Morgantown | Monongalia | Mountaineer Country | Industry | Part of West Virginia University, social, cultural, and technological history of the coal, oil, and natural gas industries of West Virginia |
St. George Academy | St. George | Tucker | Mountaineer Country | Local history | listed on the National Register of Historic Places |
Samuel Shrewsbury, Sr. House | Belle | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Historic house | Owned by the Belle Historical Restoration Society, Inc., early 19th-century period house and local history museum |
Sandstone Visitor's Center | Sandstone | Summers | Southern | Local history | website, one of three visitor centers for New River Gorge National River, area cultural and natural history of the river and its watershed |
Scott's Run Museum | Osage | Monongalia | Mountaineer Country | Local history | website, information |
Seneca Rocks Discovery Center | Seneca Rocks | Pendleton | Eastern Panhandle | Multiple | website, operated by the US Forest Service in Spruce Knob–Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, exhibits on natural and local history, includes the mid-19th-century period Sites Homestead |
South Charleston Museum | South Charleston | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Multiple | Facebook site, local history, culture and art exhibits |
Swiger Run History Center & Museum | Doddridge County | Doddridge | Mountaineer Country | Local history | website |
Taggart Hall Civil War Museum | Romney | Hampshire | Potomac Highlands | Local history | Includes Civil War memorabilia and Fenton glass |
Thurmond Depot Visitor's Center | Thurmond | Fayette | Southern | Local history | One of three visitor centers for New River Gorge National River |
Top Kick's Military Museum | Petersburg | Grant | Potomac Highlands | Military | website |
Triple Brick Museum | Martinsburg | Berkeley | Eastern Panhandle | Local history | website, located next to Adam Stephen House |
Twin Falls Resort State Park | Mullens | Wyoming | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Farm | Includes a nature center and Bowers Ridge Pioneer Farm, a restored 1830s mountain homestead working farm |
Tyler County Museum | Middlebourne | Tyler | Northern Panhandle | Local history | website, operated by the Tyler County Heritage and Historical Society |
Upshur County History Center | Buckhannon | Upshur | Mountain Lakes | Local history | website, operated by the Upshur County Historical Society |
US Navy Poster Museum | Point Pleasant | Mason | Metro Valley | Art | Facebook site, US Navy recruiting posters spanning 100 years |
Veterans Museum of Mid Ohio Valley | Parkersburg | Wood | Mid-Ohio Valley | Military | website |
Veterans Museum of Southern West Virginia | Hinton | Summers | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Military | information |
Victorian Wheeling Landmarks Foundation | Wheeling | Ohio | Northern Panhandle | Historic house | information, provides guided tours of the Victorian period Hess House, John List House and Hazlett-Fields House |
Watters Smith Memorial State Park | Lost Creek | Harrison | Mountaineer Country | Farm | Late 19th-century homestead and farm museum |
Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center | Weirton | Hancock | Northern Panhandle | Local history | website |
West Augusta Historical Society Museum | Mannington | Marion | Mountaineer Country | Local history | |
West Virginia CCC Museum | Quiet Dell | Harrison | Mountaineer Country | History | website, history of the Civilian Conservation Corps activities in WV |
West Virginia Governor's Mansion | Charleston | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Historic house | |
West Virginia Independence Hall | Wheeling | Ohio | Northern Panhandle | History | History of statehood of West Virginia |
West Virginia Railroad Museum | Elkins | Randolph | Potomac Highlands | Railway | Heritage railroad and museum being planned |
West Virginia State Capitol | Charleston | Kanawha | Metro Valley | History | |
West Virginia State Cultural Center | Charleston | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Multiple | website, includes West Virginia's artistic, cultural and historic heritage |
West Virginia State Farm Museum | Point Pleasant | Mason | Metro Valley | Farm | website, buildings of historical value, log cabins and tools, early farmhouse and furnishing, machinery, an operational 19th-century blacksmith shop, turn-of-the-20th-century doctor's and newspaper offices |
West Virginia State Museum | Charleston | Kanawha | Metro Valley | Multiple | website, West Virginia history, culture, art, paleontology, archaeology and geology |
West Virginia State Penitentiary | Moundsville | Marshall | Northern Panhandle | Prison | Former prison |
Wheeling Artisan Center | Wheeling | Ohio | Northern Panhandle | Multiple | website, includes Wymer's General Store Museum, art gallery and local history exhibits |
Whipple Company Store & Museum | Scarbro | Fayette | Southern | History | website, historic coal camp company store |
Wildwood House Museum | Beckley | Raleigh | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | History | Historic house museum |
Williamson Area Railroad Museum | Williamson | Mingo | Metro Valley | Railroad | information |
Wyoming County Historical Museum | Oceana | Wyoming | Southern | Local history | website |
Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia | Beckley | Raleigh | New River/Greenbier River Valleys | Children's | website, part of Beckley Exhibition Mine |
Z. D. Ramsdell House | Ceredo | Wayne | Metro Valley | Historic house | 19th-century house |
Defunct museums
- Buddy's Country Store & Museum, Bluewell, historic coal camp company store, closed in 2014 and contents auctioned
- Grafton B & O Railroad Heritage Center, Grafton
- Marx Toy Museum, Moundsville, closed in 2016
Regions defined
The West Virginia Association of Museums has defined the following tourism regions of West Virginia:
Eastern Panhandle
Counties: Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan
Potomac Highlands
Counties: Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph, Tucker
North-Central West Virginia
Counties: Barbour, Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Taylor
Northern Panhandle
Region includes Wheeling and Moundsville. Counties: Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler, Wetzel
Mountain Lakes
Counties: Braxton, Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas, Upshur, Webster
Metro Valley
Region centered on Charleston and Huntington. Counties: Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo, Putnam, Wayne
Mid-Ohio Valley
Counties: Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, Wood
New River/Greenbrier River Valleys
Includes most counties in Southern West Virginia. Counties: Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wyoming
See also
- Botanical gardens in West Virginia (category)
- Observatories in West Virginia (category)
- Nature Centers in West Virginia
- List of museums in the United States