Constructed in 1907, the McCreary County Museum is housed in the former Stearns Coal and Lumber Company corporate headquarters in

Stearns, Kentucky Stearns is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in McCreary County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,365 at the 2020 census. It was founded by Justus Smith Stearns. Geography Stearns is located in south-centr ...

. The building served as the company's office headquarters in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, and maintains the company president's office as an exhibit. The town where the museum is located was called the Stearns Empire of the South, and the museum continues to preserve and display the area's history from the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

times into the town's peak at the height of 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 ...

and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

industry boom. The exhibits include significant coverage of Appalachian life in McCreary County, including an exhibit on moonshine. The museum uses the first floor of the 16,000 square foot building to display artifacts, including historic documents, objects, and photographs pertaining to McCreary County and the Stearns Coal & Lumber Company. A permanent exhibit honoring the life of Wilburn K. Ross displays the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

winner's uniform and photographs. The second floor and third floors are closed to the public. The museum is adjacent to the depot of the Big South Fork Scenic Railway, a heritage railroad, on tracks that were used by the Kentucky & Tennessee Railway, along the Southern Railway.

References

External links

McCreary County Museum
Museums established in 1988 Museums in McCreary County, Kentucky History museums in Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in McCreary County, Kentucky Historic district contributing properties in Kentucky {{McCrearyCountyKY-geo-stub

See also

References

External links