Frontier Culture Museum facts for kids
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| Former name | Museum of American Frontier Culture |
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| Established | July 1, 1986 |
| Location | Staunton, Virginia, United States |
| Type | Living History |
The Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia is a large open-air museum located in the Shenandoah Valley. It covers 188 acres of land in Staunton, Virginia. The museum has about 1.8 miles of paved walking trails for visitors.
It features eleven exhibits, mostly working farms. These exhibits show the daily lives of people who moved to the Shenandoah Valley. These people came from Europe and West Africa, or were their descendants.
Contents
About the Museum
The idea for the museum started in 1975 during America's 200th birthday celebrations. The state of Virginia officially created the Museum of American Frontier Culture on July 1, 1986. It opened to the public on September 9, 1988.
When it first opened, it had three main exhibits. These were the English Cattle Shed, the Irish Farmhouse, and the 1850s Farmhouse. Over the years, the museum grew a lot. It added many more exhibits.
Today, visitors can explore different outdoor areas. They can see how traditions changed over time. Different groups learned from each other and shared customs. You can see this in the buildings, the food, and the music.
Most of the year, people dressed in old-fashioned clothes work at the farm exhibits. They show what daily life was like for the people who lived there long ago.
West Africa Exhibit
The West African exhibit shows an 18th-century Igbo family home. The Igbo people lived in what is now Nigeria. This exhibit is currently being updated.
Traditionally, an Igbo home was a rectangular area with a strong wall. The museum's exhibit includes a main building called an Obi. It also has houses for two wives, a son's house, a pavilion, and a small kitchen.
Many enslaved people brought to the Valley of Virginia were from the Igbo tribe. They brought their traditions and customs with them. For example, the modern banjo came from musical instruments used in West Africa.
English Farm Exhibit
The English Farmhouse was moved to the museum in the 1990s. It is a timber-frame building. An English farmer built it in the 1600s.
The exhibit shows life in the 1650s. This was a time when many English people moved to the American colonies. The house came from Worcestershire, a county in western England.
Farmers who owned their land but were not wealthy were called yeomen. Often, the oldest son inherited all the land. Younger sons had to find other ways to make money. Many of them moved to British Colonial America to find their own land.
Irish Farm Exhibit
In the mid-1700s, many people from Northern Ireland moved to the American colonies. The Irish house at the museum came from County Tyrone in Ulster, Ireland. It shows what daily life was like for a tenant farmer.
The farm includes a rectangular house, a pig pen, and a long barn. This farm was mostly self-sufficient. It grew most of its own food. Flax was a main crop in Ireland then. It was used to make linen cloth.
Irish Forge
The forge is a blacksmith's shop next to the Irish farm. It came from County Fermanagh, also in Ulster, Ireland. Skilled workers were very important in the American colonies. Blacksmiths, carpenters, and other skilled workers were often given better deals for their work.
German Farm Exhibit
The German farm shows the life of farmers from the Palatinate region of Germany. This was in the mid-1700s. Many German farmers were tied to their land and ruler. It was expensive for them to leave.
Many chose to move to America for a better life. They left because of too many people and not enough land. They had to get permission and pay a fee to leave.
The German farmhouse came from Hördt in southwestern Germany. It has a timber frame with walls made of wattle and daub. The roof is made of red clay tiles. A special part of the German farm is the Stube, or stove room. It has a Kachelofen, a heating stove made of bricks. This stove used less wood than fireplaces and stayed warm longer.
American Indian Exhibit
The American Indian exhibit covers the years from the 1650s to the 1760s. It shows what life was like for tribes in the Eastern Woodlands area. This area is east of the Mississippi River.
Many tribes lived here, including the Mattaponi, Pamunkey, and Monacan. The exhibit shows a small community with wigwams as homes. Some communities also used longhouses. The exhibit also has a cooking area and small shelters for watching crops.
1760s Farm Exhibit
The Settlement site shows early homes in the Shenandoah Valley from the 1700s. One-room log cabins, like the one at the museum, were not meant to be permanent. Early settlers learned farming and hunting from American Indians. They traded tools and other goods.
Life in the backcountry was not always easy. Clearing land and conflicts with some Native American groups were challenges. But for many, the risks were worth the rewards.
Log cabins were built with notched logs. Daubing was used to fill gaps between the logs. Wooden shingles on the roof kept out rain and snow. Farmers first grew food for their families. Once they had enough, they grew extra crops to sell.
1820s Farm Exhibit
By the 1820s, different groups had lived in the Valley of Virginia for generations. English, Irish, German, and enslaved people lived together. They shared experiences, leading to a mix of cultures. The 1820s exhibit shows how cultures blended in the Shenandoah Valley.
The 1820s house was built by a German farmer in 1773. It was moved to Staunton from Rockingham County. The original house had parts similar to the German house, like a Stube. Around 1820, the farmer's descendant added a parlor. This part shows English building styles.
While European cultures blended, African Americans did not have the same rights. About 25% of the Shenandoah Valley's people were enslaved in the 1820s. Free African Americans did not have the same rights as their white neighbors.
1850s Farm Exhibit
By the 1850s, some things that brought people to the Shenandoah Valley started pushing them further west. This exhibit is from Botetourt County, Virginia. A family of "plain folk" would have owned it.
Plain folk were like the yeoman farmers in the English exhibit. They owned their land and made a small income from crops and animals. In the mid-1800s, factories made goods cheaper. Things like decorated dishes became more common. Newspapers and books also became more popular.
1840s Schoolhouse Exhibit
Schools in the 1800s were different from today's schools. But many families still wanted their children to learn. Rural communities often worked together to buy materials and find a teacher. They taught basic reading, writing, and math.
The one-room schoolhouse at the museum was built around 1840. It was originally in Rockingham County, Virginia. This early education helped many Americans learn to read, write, and do basic math.
1860s African American Church Exhibit
The African American church at the museum was originally in New Hope, Virginia. The Mount Tabor United Methodist church has a story that enslaved African Americans built the log church before the 1850s. However, there are no written records before 1860.
The Mount Tabor church shows how many Methodist churches changed after the American Civil War. Many African Americans left to start their own churches. They either left the main Methodist church or formed independent groups.
Museum Expansion
In 2025, the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia announced plans to expand. This expansion includes the American Journey Gallery. The new building will have an updated Visitor's Center and museum shop. It will also have a permanent exhibit hall and a temporary exhibit hall. A new pavilion for museum and private events is also part of the plan. The expansion also includes a larger parking lot for visitors and bus tours.
See also
- Open-air museum
