The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park is a Virginia museum, run as a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

, dedicated to preserving the history of the southwestern part of the state. It is located in

Big Stone Gap Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census. History The community was formerly kno ...

, in a house built in the 1880s for

Virginia Attorney General The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ter ...

Rufus A. Ayers Rufus Adolphus Ayers (May 20, 1849 – May 14, 1926) was a Virginia lawyer, businessman, and politician, who served as Attorney General of Virginia. Ayers was born in Bedford County, Virginia. His family set out for Texas, but passed through Goo ...

. It was designed and built by Charles A. Johnson. Construction began in 1888 and was completed in 1895. The limestone and sandstone used on the exterior walls came from local quarries. Red oak lines the interior walls and ceilings. A small moat once surrounded the house. The structure was acquired by the state in 1946 from a foundation managed by

C. Bascom Slemp Campbell Bascom Slemp (September 4, 1870 – August 7, 1943) was an American Republican politician. He was a six-time United States congressman from Virginia's 9th congressional district from 1907 to 1923 and served as the presidential sec ...

. Much of the museum collection focuses on the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

boom of the 1890s; there are also exhibits dedicated to the history of Big Stone Gap and the surrounding area, and the story of the pioneers that migrated westward during the 18th century. an
''Accompanying two photos''
/ref> The museum is also the location of the Southwest Virginia Walk of Fame. The museum building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2002.

References

Park webpage
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia State parks of Virginia State parks of the Appalachians Museums in Wise County, Virginia Parks in Wise County, Virginia History museums in Virginia Historic house museums in Virginia Houses in Wise County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Wise County, Virginia Southwest Virginia Walks of fame Houses completed in 1895 Museums established in 1946 Protected areas established in 1946 1946 establishments in Virginia {{Virginia-museum-stub

See also

References