West Virginia State Museum

West Virginia’s principal museum of history and culture, located at the Capitol Complex in Charleston, traces the state’s story through exhibits on subjects ranging from natural history and archaeology to coal, art, paleontology, and settlement. Its roots lie in an 1890 exhibit created by the West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society, and it was formally opened in 1894 by Governor William McCorkle. Rehoused in 1976 and reopened in 2009 after major renovation, it holds wide-ranging collections, including Civil War flags, medical artifacts, Fiesta Tableware, and the disputed Wilson Stone. It also serves as a prominent arena for debates over how West Virginia’s past is remembered and presented.

Charleston, West Virginia · United States