The Frontier Culture Museum is the biggest open air museum in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridg ...

. The museum operates on 200 acres of land in

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities are separate jurisdictions from the counties that surround them, so the government off ...

, where it features eleven historic exhibits, to include traditional rural buildings from Europe, Africa, and America.

Overview

The Old World Exhibits of the Frontier Culture Museum include an Igbo

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

n Farm, a 17th-century

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Farm, an 18th-century Irish Farm, an Irish Forge, and an 18th-century

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Farm. Here, costumed living-history interpreters at the museum, including blacksmiths, woodworkers, tailors and yarn spinners, tell the tale of the pioneers that inhabited the frontier of the first permanent British colony in North America. Many of the early immigrants to the Shenandoah Valley were farmers seeking opportunities for a better life. These people eventually became Americans and contributed to the success of the colonies and the United States. The Museum's growing American Exhibits currently comprise an Eastern Woodland Indian exhibit, a 1760s American Settlement, an 1820s American Farm, an 1850s American Farm, the Mount Tabor Church, and an Early American Schoolhouse.Exhibits: These exhibits contributed to making the museum one of the highest rated family-friendly attractions and one of the top tourist destinations in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. In 2021, it was rated the best museum in the Shenandoah Valley by Virginia Living and by the Daily News-Record. The house later known as the Worcestershire House was a very old house in Hartlebury, England, dismantled and re-assembled at the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia, in 1992. The John Smith (Smyth or Smythe) family built it in the 1630s. An example of the Tudor frame variety of

timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

construction, it was dismantled in 1970 and shipped.American Frontier Culture Foundation. 1998. Traditional Timberframing: The Worcestershire House- A Catalog of the Exhibit Prepared by the Research & Collections Department and Curated by Vivian Lea Stevens to Celebrate the Completion of the Worcestershire House, May 1993. Frontier Museum Heritage Books: Staunton, Virginia. Pages 4-5.

References

External links

{{commons category, Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia African-American history of Virginia Ethnic museums in Virginia History museums in Virginia Igbo-American history Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Open-air museums in Virginia Living museums in Virginia English-American culture in Virginia Farm museums in Virginia German-American culture in Virginia Irish-American culture in Virginia Museums in Staunton, Virginia Native American history of Virginia European-American museums

Overview

See also

References

External links