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List of museums in West Virginia facts for kids

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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.

To use the sortable table, click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.

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

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