Museums of West Virginia

Restored 1870 mansion, barn, carriage house, and gardens located in Philippi, West Virginia. Open to the public for guided historical tours, private and public events, and weddings.

Visit historic Arthurdale, the nation's first New Deal homestead community, which includes an original homestead house, a working forge, an Esso Station, and stories about the original homesteaders.

The museum showcases objects made and used in the neighborhood during the time that it was known as Central City.

Discover a world of music, theater, art and science at one of the most unique venues in the country.

The complex organizes educational and professional programs throughout the year. Popular programs for the public include Garden Planting Days held in the spring, Fossil Day held in March and September, and the annual Archaeology Day event held in October. These educational events have activities for adults and children such as fossil identification, flint-knapping demonstrations, museum scavenger hunts, and atlatl throwing. The Lecture and Film Series presents programs on topics related to archaeology or Appalachian culture and history on designated Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Next to the Mound, the outdoor Interpretative Garden showcases crops that were first cultivated by the indigenous people, such as gourds and sunflowers.

Exhibits, artifacts, properties, and sites related to the history and culture of Harrison County, West Virginia.

Permanent and temporary exhibits related to Jefferson County and regional history.

Explore Monroe County's history in this museum and two adjacent log cabins.

Coal mining museum and organization focused on educating the public on regional coal mining heritage.

Art gallery bringing Fine Arts to the Mid-Ohio Valley, in addition to art classes for all ages.

Founded in 1972 by the Jackson County Historical Society, the museum tells the histories of Jackson County and the Ohio River’s Great Bend region with objects, photographs, and archives. The museum is located in the former Lock 22 powerhouse in Riverside Park.

Exhibits exploring the social, cultural, and technological history of West Virginia’s mineral resources and related industries.

The West Virginia Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization governed by its Board of Directors. Our mission is to promote a vigorous program in the humanities statewide in West Virginia.

Heritage museum featuring log cabins, an early farmhouse, livestock, an operational 19th century blacksmith shop, community buildings, and more.

Features exhibits that celebrate the central Appalachian forest, its history, culture, natural history, forest management, and products.

Beverly Heritage Center combines four historic buildings in the center of Beverly, West Virginia, to tell the story of the Battle of Rich Mountain and the First Campaign of the American Civil War, the pivotal role of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, and daily life in a small rural county seat through the 19th Century.

The Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit corporation dedicated to interpreting the American Railway experience using C&O Railway’s history through drawings, documents, and artifacts which the Society collects, preserves, and makes available to as broad an audience as possible.

The Craik-Patton House tells the story of two families that lived in the Kanawha Valley in the early to mid-Nineteenth century.

The North House Museum is home to historic period rooms, exhibits, a library, genealogy and family history resources, and an archive.

The Historic Shepherdstown Museum was founded to preserve and display artifacts, furniture, and historic documents that relate to local and regional history.

The Madie Carroll House Preservation Society's mission is to inspire and develop a knowledge of, an appreciation for, and a pride in the artistic, historic and architectural wealth of the Historic Madie Carroll House and surrounding communities; to assist in the practical preservation, restoration, reconstruction, and maintenance of the Historic House; to protect historically significant structures; and to work with individuals, private clubs, and governmental organizations involved in providing for the needs and concerns of citizens.

The Morgantown History Museum showcases the social, culture, and commercial history of the greater Morgantown area. Permanent exhibits include Don Knotts, vintage printing shop, local glassware and pottery and much more.

Welcome to West Virginia's multi-site museum highlighting the history and present day impact of oil and gas in the Appalachian Basin, the largest reserve of oil and gas in the world.

The mission of Spark! Imagination and Science Center is to inspire people of all ages to explore science and the arts through hands-on exhibits and programs that spark a lifelong love of learning.

Starting in the mid-1800s, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum was a hospital that now offers a range of historic and haunted tours.

The Culture Center is home to the West Virginia State Museum which offers a variety of programs and exhibits that preserve and share the culture and history of the Mountain State and its people.

The WV Mine Wars Museum in historic Matewanpreserves and interprets artifacts and historical records of the local communities affected by the West Virginia Mine Wars, exploring historical events from multiple perspectives through the lives of ordinary people.

The WVU Museum of the Health Sciences is an interdisciplinary museum located on the Health Sciences Campus at West Virginia University.

Two art galleries that present touring exhibitions as well as exhibitions drawn from West Virginia University's collection.

The Buffalo Bank was established in 1919, and the building is now operating as the Buffalo Historical Society and Welcome Center.

A place for visitors to learn about the history of Clarksburg, WV.

This two-story, brick building was constructed in 1878 with two rooms on the first floor and a double stairway leading to two more second-story classrooms connected by an office for the principal. The building is named in honor of Thomas M. Harris, a Harrisville native, rising to the rank of General while serving the Union cause during The Civil War.

Stories from and 18th Century House--The Robert Higgins House, built c.1790 by a Revolutionary War veteran, Captain Robert Higgins, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The only nationally accredited visual art museum of its size in the Tri-State region, the HMA serves the public as a museum and cultural center.

The Marion County Historical Society & Museum is housed in the 1912 former home of Marion County sheriffs.

Offers a personal, hands-on education in the birth and growth of electronic communication and entertainment, including the WV Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Old Hemlock preserves the history and life of George Bird Evans and Kay Evans. Visit for a chance to learn about their lives, tour an 1815 log house, and learn more about their line of English Setters.

The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center on the campus of Fairmont State University is dedicated to the identification, preservation, and perpetuation of our region's rich cultural heritage, through academic studies, educational programs, festivals and performances, and publications.

University library system that features rotating exhibits and art displays in the Downtown Library, Evansdale Library, Health Sciences Library, and virtually.

The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey's (WVGES) Museum of Geology and Natural History, housed in the lobby of the Survey's office on Cheat Lake near Morgantown, showcases the rich and varied story of West Virginia's geology through rock, mineral, fossil, and natural history displays.

The West Virginia Railroad Maintenance-of-Way Museum is dedicated to the preservation of history and artifacts related to the maintenance-of-way (track maintenance and repair) department of American Railroading.

It is believed that the Museum is the custodian of the largest collection of Scouting memorabilia in the world, containing hundreds of thousands of Scouting related items.